Big Little Problems
by Lily Hanson
Summary: "I don't care that the footage got out, I care more about what's going to happen now that people know Oedius has attacked twice, seemingly for no reason other than to cause terror."
1. The Rangers' New Hangout

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel._

The new Ninja Ops was a blast. Not literally, of course, but the Rangers all loved it. Mick and RedBot enjoyed having a space to work in again where they could be close to the team. While the Romero workshop was a great place to work, the Rangers didn't often hang out there. After training, they liked to head back into the city so that they were all a little bit closer to home. In the paint room, they had always been worried about someone accidentally walking in. While they had taken precautions with secret entrances, it just took someone being a little too nosey.

Preston also liked the isolation. He could practice real magic without raising any eyebrows and having to answer difficult questions. Not to mention, the Ninja Ops wasn't just a base, but a shelter. If a trick went a little awry, he didn't have to worry about destroying the base.

Calvin liked the video games. He and Brody would often come to Ninja Ops just to play together. Levi would watch, sometimes he would participate, but most often, he would sit on the couch and use the downtime to start writing songs. When he had told his fans that he would be leaving on an indefinite hiatus, he had promised to return with a lot of new material. While there was already plenty that he had done for a second album, and maybe even a third, Levi liked writing whenever inspiration hit.

Hayley liked that she had a place to hang out with her friends, but also somewhere she could get her homework done. Her father had recently found an apartment so she, Kelly and he could move into it. As a result, there was a lot of packing and he was busy ensuring that the moving day would flow smoothly. Hayley helped where she could, but her grades had already taken quite the hit recently due to all the distractions with losing her mother, Kelly's wheelchair and Sarah's injuries. She wanted to spend more time on homework than packing.

In one of the backrooms, Sarah was unpacking a bag. While for most of the Rangers, Ninja Ops was just a base, Sarah had treated it like home. After her mother's death, she hated being in her house. She hated the reminder that both her parents were gone. She hated coming home and not seeing her mother, going to bed without saying goodnight, leaving for school without one of her breakfasts… her house felt so empty.

Shane was still working on finding an apartment. He wanted to stay in Sarah's school district, so she could finish her senior year and stay close to her friends, but he also wanted to be close enough to Blue Bay Harbour so he wouldn't have a crazy commute. While Cam had assured him he could take more time off if he needed it, Shane felt he was ready to go back to work. It would give him something to do during the day to keep his mind off his sister. While they had long since moved away from each other, Shane had always been close with Jenny. He would always miss her, but going back to his regular job, and his regular life, he knew he would naturally start to think of her less, since that was a part of his life that was separate from her. It would be the break he needed from the grief to continue functioning.

If he was honest, he didn't like that Sarah had decided to live away from home. She did come back, often for dinner, to check in with him, and he would head to Ninja Ops at least every other day to make sure she and the Rangers were doing well. Jenny had trusted him to look after Sarah and he didn't think he could do that from afar. However, he knew why Sarah had made the decision and he did trust her. She was seventeen and far smarter than he was at her age. She would be okay on her own. Though he called himself a father, he knew he wasn't her father. Her parents were gone. He was just her guardian. As long as she kept him in the loop for big, life changing decisions, and came to him when she needed advice, guidance, or just for comfort, he knew it would be alright.

Kelly was in Ninja Ops with Sarah, helping to decorate the room. There were two beds in this room, two in the second room, and one in the third, with a charging station for RedBot. The Rangers didn't plan on staying the night often enough to need beds, but their predecessors had assured them that after a late fight, or after a good ass-kicking, it would feel better to rest up in Ninja Ops in a good bed, then make the journey back home.

"When Shane moves, though, you'll go with him, right?" Kelly asked as she tried to make sense of the living arrangements. She had been kicked out of her home once, and even though it had never been the ideal place to live, it had been a nightmare to be forced to leave.

"I'll have a room with him," Sarah nodded. "But… I don't know. It won't be too long before senior year is over. Hopefully we'll have stopped Oedius by then. You and I will probably hang out most of the time over the summer and then…"

"College," Kelly said. "Have you applied anywhere?"

"A few places," Sarah nodded. "Some have given me early acceptance…"

"Right," Kelly chuckled. "Because you're so smart."

"You're smart too, Kel," Sarah said. "Have you applied?"

"A few places. Mostly around here, though. You've probably applied to the big universities around the country…"

"More local," Sarah shook her head. She sat down on the bed. Kelly looked to her with a frown.

"I thought you wanted to be an engineer."

"Summer Cove College has a pretty good engineering program."

"Not as good as MIT."

"No, but… it'll give me what I want. And I can stay close to here. Close to the guys… to you."

"Nahuh," Kelly crossed her arms over her chest. "We are not going to be that couple who make big life decisions around each other when we're still just kids."

"You want long distance?"

"Only because we're also not going to be that couple who let distance ruin their relationship," Kelly told her. "I'm confident we can make it. I can go visit, you can come back home. There's skype and who knows what you'll come up with to keep in touch."

"You really do think highly of me, don't you?" Sarah chuckled. Kelly pointed to her chair.

"Hey, this thing hovers now thanks to you. Look, I'm not saying you have to go to MIT or whatever, but… don't stay here just for me. You had dreams long before we met and I want you to live them. We'll be okay."

"How about we figure that out when the times comes?" Sarah suggested and pulled Kelly in closer. "Maybe you and I can…"

She was interrupted as the alarm went off. She and Kelly both sighed just as Calvin came into the room, covering his eyes.

"Whatever you two have been up to in here is going to have to wait. It's not Oedius, but it's something ugly."

"Sounds like Oedius," Kelly chuckled to Sarah.

"Are you two ready?" Calvin asked and lowered his hand from his face to be serious. "You can sit this one out if…"

"I haven't been training for nothing," Kelly shook her head. "This thing flies, my Ranger suit is adapted to my new abilities. I want to test them out."

"Sarah?" Calvin turned to her.

"I feel fine."

"No more knocking noggins," Calvin warned her. "You threaten us with one more brain injury, and I'll shut that muscle down myself."

"Organ," Sarah corrected him. "Technically speaking, the brain is an organ, but it can be trained to improve like a muscle so…"

"Yeah, you're fine for duty," Calvin said and waved them on. "Come on!"


	2. Life Decisions

The Rangers had won… sort of. The monster hadn't been all that powerful, really, and once the Rangers had figured out his pattern, he was easily destroyed. However, unlike previous spells, this one didn't wear off with the destruction of the monster.

It seemed like it was lingering. Calvin scratched his head as he looked to the battle field. He leaned in closer to Hayley.

"Do you know what you're doing here?"

"Nope," she answered.

"Really? Isn't there, like… some sort of instinct?"

"They didn't come out of me," Hayley told him. "There's no magic hormone that's going to tell me what needs to be done. Besides, that's less of an instinct and more of a learned skill."

"So… we're both screwed?"

"Essentially," Hayley nodded, then gasped loudly and raced over to Preston. "Preston! No! You're not doing magic in the middle of the street!"

"Maybe we should take them back to Ninja Ops?" Calvin suggested. Hayley nodded her head as she grabbed Preston's arm.

"That sounds like a good idea. You grab Sarah and Levi, I'll get Brody."

"What about… Sarah, don't play with that!" Calvin shouted when he spotted Sarah with Kelly, with the pink Ranger currently pushing the green Ranger around in her chair.

"I'm just seeing how it works," Sarah argued. Calvin stomped over and grabbed her by the arm, then took the handle to Kelly's chair and started to push her. Sarah pulled against his grip. "I can make improvement! I know I can."

"Now isn't the time. Has anyone see Levi?"

"He's under that car," Kelly said. Calvin looked and spotted Levi ducked under a car. He brought the girls over, then knelt so he could look to Levi.

"Uh, Levi. What are you doing?"

Levi looked to him worriedly. Calvin offered his hand.

"I'm your friend, bud. I'll help you out from under there and…"

"You can't be a friend. You don't even know my name," Levi told him. Suddenly, Brody rushed over.

"Aiden!"

"Brody!" Levi shouted as he climbed out from under the car and caught his little brother in a tight hug. Calvin watched and nodded his head.

"Right, his real name is Aiden." He looked to Hayley, "That's everyone, right?"

"Let go before the cops show up," Hayley nodded.

-Ninja-Steel-

Serena looked to the scene before her. Five Ninja children were sitting in Ninja Ops. Calvin and Brody were playing video games, Levi was eating a snack at the counter. Preston was watching the video games and Sarah was coming up with a better wheelchair for Kelly, insisiting that improvements could be made. Kelly, intrigued, watched her work.

What stood out most: they were young. Not just teenage, new Rangers young. They were children. If Serena were to guess, they were around six and seven-year-olds. Levi was maybe a bit older at nine. Regardless, they were much too young to be Rangers.

So she laughed – loudly. Hayley and Calvin, the only two who weren't affected, seemed very frustrated she was laughing. Their friends, teammates, were mere children. While it didn't seem Oedius was strong enough to come back, if she sent another monster down before they could figure out how to get their friends back to normal, it would just be the two of them with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

"This isn't funny."

"Not when it's happening to you," Serena agreed with Hayley. "But when you're on the outside looking in, knowing the shit you guys are in for, it's pretty damn hilarious."

"I take it this happened to you?" Calvin asked, and Serena nodded.

"Oh yeah. Rowdy Samurai children. We had four boys and one girl, all aged down about sixteen years. The boys were… well, about the same age these guys are now, and my sister was two. Damn she was cute. I miss that monster."

"So, do you know how to fix it?"

"We defeated the monster," Serena said. "You guys might just have to wait this out."

"Okay, well…" Calvin turned to Hayley. "You can explain to your dad what happened, and we'll just talk to Dane and they can look after the kids, right."

"You want to put them back into the public like this?" Serena asked. "Uh, here's a reminder. Oedius sent out the monster who did this. She probably knows that they're kids. If she decides to attack, even in her state, whatever it is, they're pretty much defenseless."

"I'm a trained Ninja," Levi said from the table. Serena turned to him.

"That's cute, honey. Finish your apple slices and then you can play video games."

"Serena's right," Mick said as he came over. "Ninja Ops is the safest place for them. Oedius knows they're vulnerable and as we learned, she isn't afraid to take advantage of that."

"So we have to keep them here?" Calvin asked.

"You can look after them," Serena suggested. "I mean, how hard will it be. It's like playing house."

She said it with a straight face, but barely, and it wasn't long after she said it that she burst out laughing again. Calvin looked to her pleadingly.

"You're a mother, aren't you?"

"Yeah. My son's about their age."

"So this is perfect," Calvin told her. "You can look after the others while…"

"Uh, I already have two kids," Serena shook her head. "I only came because Mick called and wanted an extra hand when you guys got home in case there were any injuries or anything. My daughter's got piano practice and I promised I'd take her."

"But…"

"It's a shame I'll have to miss this," Serena called out as she made her way to the door. "Please, _please_ film this so I can watch it later."

"You know you suck, right?" Hayley said. Serena ignored her as she made a phone call.

"Mia? Oh my god, you'll never guess what happened to the new guys…"

-Ninja-Steel-

As much as Jake loved playing soccer, and as much as his team needed him, he loved his family more and right now, they were his priority.

Gia's job was a tough one, not just for her, but for everyone. It had been less than a year since they had lost Jordan. It was a tough reminder that everyday, when Gia left for work, there was the possibility that she never came home.

It made life on the road tougher for Jake than it needed to be. Every time he had to leave at the start of the season, he worried this would be the last time he got with his wife. Gia had had many close calls in her life. Just starting a family had been a huge risk. Jake knew that as long as she continued to take those risks, there would be a day where she wasn't so lucky.

But she was happy. Gia had always loved her job, and insisted that as long as she was working to make life better for others, she would take the risk. If she could protect innocent people from danger, she would happily sacrifice her life. She and Jake had spoken many times about what risks would be necessary, and what would be stupid, and he trusted his wife's priority was coming home to him and their daughter. However, he understood that that decision could be taken out of her hand at any moment.

Getting the call about the attack had been dreadful. Jake was out of the country, in the middle of playoff season. He was the star and the captain of his team. Losing him would be a big blow, but Jake knew there was no debating it. He flew home as soon as possible.

Gia hadn't been terribly hurt. She had a fractured leg, a few cuts and bruises. It was really nothing she couldn't bounce back from, and with Emma at home as well, it wasn't like Gia would need much of a hand looking after Ciara. The two families were already co-raising their children, so there wasn't much out of the usual with Emma taking the lead for a few weeks.

Jake was glad he had come back, though. Not just to ease his own fears, but because it seemed that Gia had taken a much bigger hit in the attack than anyone could have predicted.

Serena had warned him when he came home that Gia was already talking about quitting her job. At first, Jake was happy. Gia would no longer be the first in line when danger struck, and he was sure that after her dedication to her work, her bosses would be happy to let her have an early retirement and keep her benefits and some money rolling in. She could spend more time with Ciara and maybe he could have his family come on the road with him when he had to travel, instead of him leaving them behind.

But just like how Jake loved his job, even though it took him away from the two people he loved most, Gia loved her job too. She was off duty as she recovered, so she wouldn't have been working anyway, but since the accident, Jake had noticed there was something different about his wife. Somehow, she seemed almost empty.

"Ciara, can you put your plate away please, before you leave the table?" Jake instructed his daughter. She sighed loudly as she returned to the table and collected her plate. She brought it to the dishwasher and gave him a look. Jake frowned back. "Excuse me?"

He loved her dearly, and his daughter was quick as a whip. She was everything he loved about Gia, with a few of his own traits that made her the absolute perfect combination of himself and his wife. Unfortunately, he had a daughter that was showing signs of being a genius, just like her mother, and it left her with a lot of attitude for someone so young.

"I didn't say anything," she told him.

"What was that look?" he asked her. Ciara shrugged.

"It's just one plate. Why can't _you_ clean it up?"

"Excuse me, little miss," Jake said as he knelt to her level. "I prepared your lunch and washed all the dishes. All I'm asking you to do is put the plate away before you go."

"I don't have to do that at Grandma's."

"I don't have to cook at Grandma's," Jake told her. "But I do it here."

"Fine, but when I cook, you have to put your plate away," Ciara told him.

"Fine by me. Why don't you go see if Joe wants to play in the backyard?" Jake suggested. Ciara went off happily to the backyard, hoping her cousin was also finished his lunch so he could play with her outside. Jake shook his head, then walked into the living room to collect Gia's dishes from lunch.

"Do I have to put my plate away too?" she asked him, and Jake chuckled.

"Once you can walk, you can put your plate away," he said. "For now, I'm happy to help."

"At least now you know what I put up with. She's starting to question everything. I asked her to clean her room the other week, and she gave me a five-minute lecture on how her room is her space and she should be able to keep it the way she wants."

"What did you tell her?"

"I buy the ice-cream, so I should be able to share it when I want," Gia said, and Jake chuckled. He always liked to reason with his daughter. If she had a question, or challenged his authority, he liked to explain to her why she needed to listen to him. Gia tended to throw Ciara's quips right back at her.

"She's going to be fun as a teenager," he chuckled, then pointed to the papers on the coffee table. "Eric sent you the return to work forms already?"

"So, I can have them ready if I go back," Gia nodded. "He knows usually when I come back from leave, I like to hit the ground running."

"If you go back?"

"I'm still thinking about it," Gia told him. "HQ has been attacked twice now and… with Oedius out there…"

"I hate to say it, Gia, but there's always going to be monster attacks. I'd like to think this team is the last but… people have been saying that for twenty-five years."

"I know," Gia nodded. "It's just… Oedius is brutal, Jake."

"How is she any different from Vrak? You handled him just fine."

"I didn't have a daughter then," Gia muttered. "And with Jordan already gone and with what that did to Emma and Joe…"

"The biggest comfort they both have is knowing that Jordan died doing what he loved," Jake said. "We all know that if Jordan could do it all over again, he would still become a Silver Guardian. He would still take on the biggest, baddest humans and monsters out there."

"I know, but…"

"You know I'm not going to stop you if you want to quit," Jake told her. "But just these past couple of weeks has been pretty tough on you."

"My leg is broken."

"You know what I mean," Jake said. He set the dishes down and then sat next to his wife. He took her hand. "I hate to bring him up but… Cliff…"

"Jake…"

"Just hear me out," Jake said. "Cliff did terrible, terrible things to you."

"We've established that," Gia nodded.

"But he did something wonderful too."

"Tread carefully Holling," she warned him.

"He made you into an asset this city needs," Jake said. "Because of what happened with Cliff and how alone you felt, and how you were sure that if you told, no one would believe you, you're always out there fighting to give a voice to people who are in similar positions. You're the biggest advocate out there for people who can't speak for themselves."

"I stop criminals."

"You've done more to help their victims find their voice and get their lives back than any other police officer or Silver Guardian I've met," Jake reminded her. "I mean, when the schools come for tours, the kids always felt safest with you. Jordan would offer them cookies and show them cool stuff but you'd always say how kids would look to you, or smile at you and the quite ones would gravitate towards you. Hell, you had a kid disclose abuse to you five minutes after he met you."

Gia smiled and nodded her head. Jake squeezed her hand.

"Isn't he better off with his foster family now?"

"They're about to adopt," Gia told him. "He's so happy."

"You did that," Jake said. "And what about that Ranger you were with? Sarah?"

"What about her?"

"She crossed city lines to be with you, Gia. She's at the lowest point in her life right now, and she made the journey from Summer Cove to Angel Grove because when she didn't want to be alone, she knew she would be safe with you."

"Look how that turned out."

"Yeah, I watched the video," Jake said. "Gia, Oedius showed up and you're the one who chased her off."

"Sarah ended up with a second traumatic brain injury and I fractured a leg…"

"It could have been much worse. And, I really do think that if you weren't there with her, if Oedius had cornered her while she was on her own, she never would have lived."

"You're just saying that."

"You always step it up when people need you," Jake said. "You always find a way to keep the people you care about safe. If quitting is really what you want to do, I'll fully support it, but this city is going to take a huge hit and… I really think you would too. Protecting people, giving them a voice… what greater purpose could there be in life?"

"What about Ciara? If something happens…"

"Her mother will always be her hero," Jake said. "Just… make sure if you're quitting, you'll be happy long term."


	3. Five Too Many

Ninja Ops had never been so loud. Of course, it was still a new hangout for the Rangers, but even without much to compare it to, Hayley was certain that this would be the loudest that Ninja Ops would ever get.

Five children were far too many.

Mick and RedBot were mostly staying out of the drama. It was up to them to find a cure that would turn the little Rangers back to their actual age, and since Hayley and Calvin both wanted that to happen as soon as possible, they were glad that Mick and RedBot had left to do that. It meant the base was less crowded and they didn't have to worry about curious little hands interfering with the cure.

Unfortunately, Mick was probably the only person on the team who had any experience with children. While he had none of his own, he had met Brody when the boy was only eight and became a sort of father figure to him. Hayley and Calvin were on their own and as they were discovering, parenting was hard.

Especially when the kids were hungry. She had to make grilled cheese – the only food everyone agreed was good that she could cook in Ninja Ops. While it was a rather simple meal, making five of them at once had proven challenging.

"Did you remember the lactose free cheese for mine?" Preston asked as he walked right up to the stove. Hayley had to take care to keep him away. She was sure he was old enough to know not to touch because it was hot, but she didn't want to take that risk.

"Yes, I remembered. It's… uh," Hayley looked to the plate of grilled cheese that she had already made and realized she had forgotten to mark which once was lactose-free. "It's one of these."

"I can't have lactose at all," Preston told her. "My tummy starts to feel really bad."

"I know, I know… it's… that one," Hayley said and pointed to the grilled cheese she was most sure was for Preston. He didn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure?"

"No?" Hayley answered, then turned to her boyfriend, "Cal! Do we still have lactose-free cheese?"

"Did you make Preston's?"

"I forgot which is his."

"That was the last one," Calvin answered. "Can't you… sniff it out or something?"

"Oh, right. I forgot I was part bloodhound," Hayley muttered, then looked to Preston, "So, how bad does it really get? You've had pizza and ice-cream before, right?"

"Special pizza and ice-cream," Preston told her. "I mean… I guess it's not that bad. I can take my magic book or something into the washroom to pass the time…"

"I'll make you something else," Hayley said with a sigh. She flipped the last grilled cheese onto the plate and brought it to the table to serve the others. "Pause the video games, please. It's time for lunch."

In an instant, the boys raced for the table. Levi had challenged Brody to a race and when he beat his younger brother, he took the entire plate of grilled cheese and stuck out his tongue.

"Ha-ha! You've got nothing!"

"That's not fair, Aiden!" Brody whined and tried to reach for a sandwich, but Levi pulled them away. "Hayley made that for everyone!"

"I don't see your name on it," Levi teased.

"HAYLEY!" Brody screamed and turned to the white Ranger. She frowned.

"Levi, that's not just for you."

"My name isn't Levi."

"Aiden," Hayley corrected herself, then snatched the plate from Levi and dropped one grilled cheese in front of him. "You get two. That's exactly what you asked for."

"Do we have ketchup?" Kelly asked as she parked her chair under the table and then reached for her sandwich. "I can't eat grilled cheese without ketchup."

Hayley nodded and set the condiment on the table before she reached for her own sandwich. Just as she was about to take a bite, Calvin snatched it from her hand.

"Thanks, babe."

"Where have you been?" Hayley asked him. "You tossed me the bread and then disappeared. I thought you'd help me get lunch ready?"

"It's just grilled cheese and you did great," Calvin shrugged. "This sandwich is amazing. Besides, Sarah's working with some tools so I thought I'd keep an eye on her."

"Tools?"

"She's building… what did she call it?" Calvin asked Kelly, who shrugged.

"All she said was that video games were lame, and then she said that she could make something even cooler and more fun."

"And you let her use tools? Cal, she's six," Hayley frowned then looked around the table. "And, where is she?"

"Relax. Dad used to let me play with tools all the time when I was little," Calvin said. "And she said she wasn't hungry."

"I'll eat her sandwich," Levi said and reached for the big plate, taking his third sandwich.

"Hey!" Preston called out. "I don't even have a lunch yet!"

"Dammit," Hayley muttered. She set down the half-sandwich she still had left and got up to see what she could whip up quickly for Preston. "Cal, can you go get her?"

"She's fine, but whatever," Calvin nodded. He wolfed down his second sandwich then got up from the table. He knocked on the door to Sarah's room. "Sarah? You have to come out now. Hayley made everyone lunch."

"Not hungry! Working!"

"It can wait," he said.

"HEY!" Kelly suddenly screamed and Calvin turned around to see Brody with the ketchup in his hands and a worried look on his face. Kelly screamed again. "That's my favourite dress!"

"Sorry," Brody told her. "It sprayed."

"It's gonna stain!"

"Hayley, who had already started preparing a new meal for Preston, turned to Calvin, "Can you handle that?"

"I hate turkey," Preston told her.

Calvin looked between Sarah's door and Kelly's dress, unsure which to tackle first until Kelly picked up her glass of milk. She looked like she was about to throw it at Brody in retaliation, so he jumped in, snatching the glass from her. Unfortunately, Brody knew exactly what Kelly's intention was.

"Mine was by accident!" he screamed.

Calvin pulled Kelly away from the table an inspected her dress. "I can soak it and maybe it won't stain."

"But I've got nothing else to wear," Kelly reminded him. Calvin looked up, eyes wide, at Hayley.

"They only have one set of clothes."

"What do you mean?"

"I've got nothing to change Kelly into while I soak her dress," Calvin said.

"Can't you just… figure it out? It's not like we can take the kids shopping. We were told to keep them here."

"I'm not walking around without clothes on," Kelly crossed her arms over her chest.

"You don't walk," Brody grumbled loud enough so Kelly could hear him. She let out a cry, upset by his comment and took her glass of milk and threw it at him. Not only did the milk soak him, but the glass hit him in the head, causing Brody to cry out and Levi to jump out of his seat.

"That's my little brother!"

"That hurt!" Brody screamed.

"I'm hungry!" Preston shouted when he saw Hayley was distracted by the incident and no closer to being done making his lunch. Then, to top it all off, the fire alarm went off. As Calvin rushed to check up on Brody, clean up the milk and keep Levi and Kelly away from each other, Hayley tried to figure out what had set off the smoke alarm. She had finished with the grilled cheese and was only making Preston a sandwich.

"Shit!" she shouted and rushed for the bedroom to find Sarah's creation smoking. She grabbed the pink Ranger, carried her out to the kitchen, then picked up the fire extinguisher and put out Sarah's work. When that was taken care of, she glared at the little girl. Sarah looked up apologetically.

"I think that's too much power."

"You think?" Hayley muttered. She glanced to Calvin as more milk spilled from the table from Levi trying to defend his brother. "Cal, that's not handling it!"

"I don't know what I'm doing, Hayl!"

"What happened out here?" Sarah asked.

"Brody ruined my dress," Kelly answered.

"It was an accident!" he screamed back as Calvin helped him take off his wet shirt. The yellow Ranger looked to his girlfriend.

"Now we really need to get them new clothes."

"Fine," Hayley nodded. Though they had been told to keep the kids inside, there was really no denying it. They were at each other's throats over lunch, she felt like she was at her wit's end and being cramped inside Ninja Ops for an undetermined amount of time was really starting to make the place feel small.

"Hey, who ate my grilled cheese?" Sarah asked, looking over the wet and messy table to find the plate of sandwiches was empty.

"Aiden," Kelly pointed to the gold Ranger, who looked guilty.

"You said you weren't hungry."

"I am now."

"I'll make you a sandwich," Hayley promised. "Cal, can you get the others ready to go while I make Preston and Sarah something to eat."

"Be prepared to wait forever," Preston whispered to Sarah. "She's not even half-way done my sandwich."

"You know. I think I can make something that'll…"

"No more inventions," Hayley said.


	4. Shopping Woes

Shopping was a little easier. For starters, the mall was unusually quiet, which Calvin was thankful for. It was a nice day out in Summer Cove and for the first time in a while, it wasn't too hot outside. It seemed instead of staying locked up inside with air conditioning, most people were taking advantage of the nicer weather to be outside. Calvin was grateful for that.

To make things even easier, he and Hayley had split up shopping duty. He would help the boys pick out a couple new outfits and she would take the girls. While they were both hopeful that Mick and RedBot would find a cure quickly, lunch had shown them that they needed to be ready for anything, and having some spare clothes lying around wouldn't be a bad idea.

Preston seemed to want to stick close to Calvin as they made their way around the mall. He wasn't one to wander and so Calvin didn't feel he hand to keep an eye on him all the time. That meant he could focus on Brody and Levi, who were so excited to be at a mall, they wanted to see everything. Calvin had to remember that the boys had grown up away from the city and so trips to the mall were likely a luxury they rarely got to experience.

"They have so many toys," Brody said as he looked into a toy store. He turned to Calvin. "Can we get a toy?"

"I don't have a lot of cash," Calvin shook his head.

"But there are no toys at home," Brody sulked. Calvin shook his head.

"We have enough fun playing video games," he said.

"What if, instead of buying clothes, we buy toys?" Levi reasoned. "Brody only needs a new shirt."

"Hayley said…"

"Girls love shopping," Levi told him. "Hayley probably wants to buy new clothes. We don't. If we only buy Brody a new shirt, can we use the rest of the money to buy toys?"

"No. We really should have more clothes in case…"

"One little toy each?" Levi asked. "And only one new outfit each. Come on, Calvin, there are no toys at home at all!"

"I guess that's true," Calvin nodded. "Okay, but only something small."

All three boys cheered as they raced inside the toy store. Calvin let them go while he opened his wallet and checked how much money he had inside. He knew the boys weren't likely to need too many new outfits, so there would be a little room to buy them some toys, which would help to keep them happy and busy at Ninja Ops.

"Maybe this could work," he said then walked into the store. "Hey, maybe we should pick something out for the girls too?"

"Oh man, look at these Power Rangers!" Brody raced over to Calvin and showed him a tall action figure of the red Ranger. "This is so cool! He's a ninja too, just like me! Can I get it? Please? Please?"

"The big one?" Calvin asked, checking the price to find it was much more than what he expected to pay for a small toy. "The shelves are full of Ranger toys. Can't you get one a little less expensive?"

"But I like this one."

"If he gets the big one, I want the big one too," Levi said, carrying the same toy, only the gold Ranger instead of red.

"Oh man, I've been looking for this everywhere," Preston said as he brought over his choice for a toy. He proudly held up a big magic kit. "Calvin, this has everything! Rings and a wand and cards and a hat and…"

"It's over a hundred bucks!"

"It's got everything!" Preston told him. "And it's not that expensive."

"It's worth more than Brody's and Levi's toys combined!"

"But it's so awesome!"

"Guys, I said something little. And we didn't even pick out anything for the girls. If we don't bring them back something, they'll be upset," Calvin walked them over to the shelf. He found smaller versions of the Power Ranger toys that Levi and Brody wanted, and then saw there was a smaller magic kit for Preston. "This is more what I was thinking."

"But…"

"I want the big one!" Preston screamed and threw the smaller magic kit to the floor. "You said I could pick out a toy and I did!"

"Preston…" Calvin looked around. Though the mall wasn't busy, there were still people around. Preston's tantrum had come out of nowhere and admittedly, it was a little embarrassing. People walking past the aisle were giving him judgemental looks.

"Okay, okay," Calvin caved. "You'll get the magic kit. But that means no clothes. If you get them dirty, you'll have to keep wearing them."

"This comes with a cape," Preston said and took his first choice off the shelf.

"If he gets the bigger one…"

"I know, I know," Calvin nodded, and the boys grabbed their respective toys and raced to the cash. Calvin went to pay and after getting his change, he counted it out with a sigh. "Barely enough for one shirt. Hayley isn't going to be happy."

-Ninja-Steel-

While Hayley had been lucky enough not to cross the toy store, she was facing a challenge of her own. The store that she wanted to take the girls too was on the second floor of the mall and the elevator was broken. While normally that would mean she would just find the stairs, that wasn't an option today.

"Well that sucks," Sarah commented out loud, and the elevator repairman looked to her and Kelly sympathetically.

"I'm getting it fixed up as quickly as I can. The escalator's down that way."

"She can't take the escalator," Sarah told him and pointed to the chair.

"I'm working on it," he promised. Hayley thanked him then ushered the girls away.

"I can make the escalator work," she said. "Maybe by the time we have to come back down, the elevator will be fixed again."

They walked to the escalator and Hayley instructed Sarah to go up first. Sarah looked a little worried but did as she was told. Hayley then grabbed the back of Kelly's chair.

"You aren't going to drop me, are you?" Kelly asked. Hayley shook her head.

"I'll be right behind you. If you fall, I'll fall too."

"That's not really comforting."

"I won't let you drop," Hayley said and placed the chair on the escalator. A the steps pulled away from each other, Kelly's chair tilted backwards an uncomfortable amount. All her weight was pushed into Hayley. It wasn't too much, but Hayley could see why escalators weren't an option. This had to frightening for Kelly and if Hayley lost her balance for even a second, they could both go tumbling down and hurt themselves.

Fortunately, they made it to the top. When Kelly was level again, she breathed out a sigh of relief and thanked Hayley for not letting her drop. Hayley assured her everything had been fine, and that they would wait for the elevator to be fixed before going back down. Then, just as they started to make their way to the store, a woman walked up to Hayley.

"You know the escalator isn't meant for people like her, right?"

"Oh, I know, but the elevator is broken," Hayley said, and the woman scoffed.

"So, then you don't come upstairs."

"But the store we need is up here," Hayley said. "She's not too heavy and I wouldn't have done it if I thought for a second it was dangerous."

"Yeah," Kelly nodded.

"It doesn't matter. You should know better," the woman said before walking off.

"What climbed up her butt?" Sarah asked. Hayley grabbed her arm and started to walk.

"Some people just stick their nose into everything," she said. "You trusted me, right, Kelly?"

"Yeah," Kelly nodded. "I just didn't want to fall."

"Okay, you'll need a couple of outfits," Hayley told the girls. "If you see something you like, let me know. Two shirts, one set of bottoms and if you insist on a new dress, Kel, please keep it to one. We're on a budget."

"Look at these shoes!" Sarah called out, having already raced off to pick out what she wanted. She picked up the display and raced back to Hayley. "Oh man, these are so cool!"

"You have shoes," Hayley told her. "We're looking for clothes."

"But I have clothes," Sarah insisted. "And these shoes are sick! Besides, you'll buy Kelly a dress and I don't want one, so I'll have shoes instead."

"I'm replacing her dress," Hayley said.

"So I can't get these shoes?"

"I'm sure you can find clothes that you'll like just as much," Hayley insisted and had Sarah put the shoe back on the display. "Remember, two shirts and one set of bottoms."

Sarah sulked as she had to put the shoe back but was eventually distracted with a shirt she claimed was the most amazing shirt she had ever seen.

Once they had new outfits chosen and Hayley paid, they stepped out of the store to see the elevator was still out of order. Knowing it would be much more of a challenge to take Kelly down the escalator, Hayley had to think of a way to kill time until the repair was done. Fortunately, the food court was on their level, and since Sarah only wanted the one shirt, and Kelly had decided against getting a new dress, Hayley had some money saved up to treat the girls to ice-cream.

As they walked past the escalators, though, Sarah recognized the woman who had spoken to Hayley earlier. She seemed to be watching Hayley from her bench. Sarah recognized that as a judgemental look and was about to stick her tongue out in retaliation when she noticed something. There, coming up the escalator was a mother with a young child in a heavy stroller. Since the elevator was down, the mother also had to resort to using the escalator, despite the warnings. Then, she walked right past the woman, who despite seeing her coming up, said nothing about it.

"Hey!" Sarah shouted to the woman. "Aren't you going to police her?"

"Sarah, let it go," Hayley said and grabbed her arm to pull her along, but Sarah was stubborn.

"She came up the stairs with a baby," Sarah said, but the rude woman just shook her head.

"It's different. I know she wouldn't let the stroller drop."

"Sarah, just drop it," Hayley insisted again.

"But you told Hayley it was dangerous because she could have fallen."

"Sarah, please," Hayley begged and looked to the woman apologetically. "Sorry…"

"That lady could have fallen too, and her baby can't even say if they trust their mother or not."

Despite what Sarah thought was a logical argument, the woman paid her no mind and instead looked to Hayley, still with the judgemental scowl.

"Some people really just shouldn't be in charge of kids," she said. "If you can't control them, don't have them."

"You're not nice," Sarah said, but the woman continued to ignore her and walked off. Sarah stuck out her tongue and stomped her foot, but Hayley grabbed her and picked her up.

"Let's get ice-cream, okay?"

"But... that wasn't fair," Sarah commented. "She didn't mind her business with you but didn't say anything to that other lady."

"I know," Hayley nodded. "Some things just aren't fair."

"But why you?" Sarah asked. Hayley found an empty table in the food court and set her down. Then she cleared away a chair for Kelly.

"Some people are just like that."

"It's because Hayley's black," Kelly said. Sarah frowned. That made absolutely no sense. "Because Hayley's black, that woman thinks she isn't good. My daddy always used to say that."

Kelly looked up at Hayley, "I don't believe him. You're awesome."

"Thank you," Hayley nodded, then looked to Sarah, who seemed even more confused now.

"But… but that's got nothing to do with it. It's physics!" Sarah stated. "It's got nothing to do with skin!"

"Sarah, just drop it. It happened," Hayley said. Sarah stopped speaking, then when Hayley asked her what flavour of ice-cream she would want, Sarah claimed she wasn't hungry. "You're always hungry for ice-cream."

"My tummy hurts," Sarah muttered.

Hayley sighed. She took a seat and then gave Kelly some cash. "Think you can get us three sundaes?"

"Can do," Kelly smiled. As she left, Hayley reached across the table and took Sarah's hand.

"You're still thinking about it, aren't you?"

"That's not fair," Sarah muttered. "That lady was being mean to you because of your skin?"

"People do that," Hayley nodded.

"Why?"

"Because… I don't really know why," Hayley answered honestly. "People think they're better than us."

"Us? Black people?" Sarah asked and looked down at her hands.

"Yeah."

"Because of skin colour?"

"It's complicated," Hayley nodded. "And I really don't feel like talking about it in a mall."

"Does it hurt your feelings?" Sarah asked. "When people do stuff like that lady?"

"It does."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said, her eyes still focused on her hands. Hayley squeezed them gently and smiled.

"Hey, you aren't like that lady," Hayley said. "You're my friend, and you never made me feel bad."

"It doesn't make sense," Sarah muttered.

"I know."

"Does it happen a lot?"

Part of Hayley wanted to lie. What did it matter what she told a young Sarah when she knew it was only a matter of time before Sarah was old enough to understand it all again.

But another part of Hayley was glad Sarah had asked that question. No one had ever really asked it before. In her family, they all had similar experiences when it came to race, and while her parents had spoken to her many times about how to deal with it, they never asked her how often it happened, or even if it hurt because they already knew. And none of Hayley's friends had ever asked her before. Even Calvin, who had witnessed incidents like this, didn't ask if it happened to her a lot, especially without him there.

"Yeah, Sarah. It does."

"Like… every day, a lot?"

"Every day," Hayley nodded. "Sometimes it's not as obvious as that lady. Sometimes it's little things…. Things most people wouldn't even think of."

Sarah put her hand on her stomach. She didn't like the thought of people being mean to Hayley because of something as trivial as skin. She also didn't like that the lady who had hurt Hayley was still around the mall. That judgemental gaze burned in Sarah's memory.

"Sarah, it's fine," Hayley told her. "I have good friends, like you. Friends who are there to remind me that I'm just as good as all of you."

"But that lady…"

"Her opinion of me doesn't matter," Hayley said. "It hurts, and I wish people were a lot nicer, but it's you I really care about."

Sarah hopped down from her chair and came over to Hayley. She pulled the white Ranger in for a tight hug.

"I'm sorry she hurt your feelings, Hayley," Sarah said. "I'll never let people do that to you again."

"I know," Hayley smiled. "You're a good kid, Sarah."

"What happened?" Calvin asked as he arrived with the boys. They had come up the escalator to find the girls and had spotted Hayley and Sarah sitting in the food court. Hayley just shrugged.

"Nothing. A lady was just being mean and Sarah wanted to know why."

"Being mean…?" Calvin asked and Hayley nodded her head. "Hayls, I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. Sarah was pretty cool about it," Hayley said and smiled at the pink Ranger. "She called the lady out. I think she even scared her off a bit."

"Nobody's going to be mean to Hayley around me," Sarah said. It was at that moment that Kelly came back with the three sundaes and the boys instantly looked jealous.

"We want ice-cream!"

"Sorry," Hayley said to Calvin. "We finished up quickly and I thought you'd take a little longer. I'm out of cash, so if you have any left…"

"Nope," Calvin shook his head as he made sure that the bag he was carrying was tucked behind his back. "The clothes cost a bit more than I was expecting so…"

"What's that?" Kelly asked and pointed to the bag in Calvin's hand. "Did you go to the toy store?"

"We browsed…"

"I got a magic kit!" Preston blurted out and reached into the bag. As he revealed his purchase, and Levi and Brody both followed with theirs, Calvin looked apologetically at Hayley. "Browsed and bought. But you can't be too mad at me because you got the girls ice-cream."

"And clothes," Hayley said and pointed to the bags. "The girls both have clothes to change into. Those toys look expensive."

"I got Brody a new shirt," Calvin said and pointed to the clean, dry shirt that Brody was wearing.

"And…?"

"It's red?"

"Calvin!"

"Preston got mad," Calvin said in his own defense. "Like… unusually mad for a little guy."

"Sarah wasn't happy when I told her she couldn't get the shoes she wanted."

"Maybe you're just better at this than I am," Calvin said with a shrug. "Because you're such an awesome person and girlfriend and…"

"You're making the laundry run if we need clean clothes," Hayley told him and Calvin nodded his head.

"Fair. Absolutely and one hundred percent fair."

"And making dinner."

"Deal."


	5. Leaked Video

Gia wasn't completely sure about her decision yet regarding work, but she knew one thing was certain. Jake was right.

Beyond raising her daughter, work was what gave her a sense of purpose. She loved that her job enabled her to help people. She loved that instead of being the victim of violence, she could help to put an end to it. She liked that when people felt like they were in trouble, she could help them make a better life for themselves.

So, while Jake was busy getting the kids off to school, Gia made her way into work. She wasn't due back yet, but she felt it might help her to decide if she came back for a visit.

The lobby seemed like it had been cleaned. The water from the fire alarm being pulled hadn't damaged the floor and the furniture that got wet had already been replaced. Evidence from the attack had been repaired and so it was like it never happened. As Gia looked around, Emma rushed over to her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked and quickly helped Gia into one of the couch seats, then used one of the pillows to help prop the yellow Ranger's leg up. "You should still be resting."

"I'm going a little stir crazy inside all day every day," Gia said. "Thought I'd stop by here. You did a great job cleaning up."

"We had to," Emma nodded. "People don't feel safe coming into a crime scene."

"Makes sense," Gia agreed.

"So, does this mean you're coming back to work?" Emma asked but Gia shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know what she wanted to do. "You don't have to decide right now, but…"

The elevator doors opening caught Gia's attention. She expected to see Rebecca stepping out but found herself surprised when Eric was by her side.

"Just remember, right now we're focused on damage control," he told her. "Keep a strong presence everywhere. Let people know you're out, keeping an eye on everything and this should blow over."

"I'll do my best," Rebecca promised him.

"Any word yet on your partner?" Eric asked. Gia pushed herself up and made her way over.

"You can ask her yourself."

Eric looked his employee up and down, then shook his head, "No."

"No?"

"We push the limits, but no. You're not coming back to work yet. Not while you're still in a cast."

"You're coming back already?" Rebecca asked, confused. "But the doctor said…"

"I'm not starting back today," Gia said. "I'm just stopping by for a visit. Can't stay at home all the time."

"You get the forms?" Eric asked.

"Yeah."

"So you're coming back?"

"I'm thinking about it," Gia told him honestly. "But… Rebecca's got a partner while I'm away, right?"

"Yeah. He kind of smells, though," Rebecca whispered, taking care not to speak too loudly.

"So why are you here?" Gia asked Eric bluntly.

"You don't need to worry about that until you're back to work," he said. "All you need to focus on right now is resting up."

"We have it under control, Gia," Emma assured her. Gia looked to her best friend, her partner, and then her boss. They were hiding something, and while it made sense that they wouldn't share it with her while she was supposed to be on leave, she was itching to know what was happening. Even in the worst of times, Wes and Eric wouldn't stop by. They trusted her to run the Silver Guardians in her cities without needing to interfere.

"You may be the boss," she told Eric, "But this is my building. My city. If there's something going on, I'd rather not jump into the middle of it when I come back?"

"When?" Emma asked.

"If," Gia corrected herself.

"Guess you haven't been watching the news much, huh, Hops?" Eric said and took out his tablet.

"Mostly cartoons with my daughter," Gia said and looked at the still of the video that Eric had displayed. "What's happening?"

"Despite our best efforts, seems the video got out," Eric told her. "News outlets everywhere are showing what happened to you and that kid against the monster and it's causing a bit of a panic here, and in Summer Cove."

"Who leaked it?"

"Anyone with access to the video," Eric said and pointed to the security cameras on the walls. "You keep those guarded, right?"

"I was telling Eric we've had a lot of people coming in and out making repairs," Rebecca told Gia. "We can't guarantee someone didn't sneak a look at the footage to figure out what happened."

"Only Rebecca and I have access to the footage," Gia said. "In the building, at least. You and Wes obviously also have access, so the breach could also have been…"

"Nice deflection," Eric said. "But I'm not casting blame. I don't care that the footage got out, I care more about what's going to happen now that people know Oedius has attacked twice, seemingly for no reason other than to cause terror."

"We can keep people calm," Gia said.

"Rebecca already promised she would do her best," Eric nodded and turned to the other guardian. "But I want a detailed plan of what to do in case there is a city-wide panic in my inbox by tomorrow."

"Officer Odours and I can get that to you ASAP," Rebecca promised. "We'll hash out the details."

"Officer Odours?" Gia asked Emma, who nodded her head.

"The guy really does have a funny smell about him."

"He eats fish every day," Rebecca complained, then looked to Eric, "I really doubt he's your best guy. I'm pretty sure you just wanted to get that smell out of Silver Hills."

"In any case, I'm waiting on that report. The sooner the better," Eric said to Rebecca then turned back to Gia. "As for you, let me know as soon as you do if you'll be returning to work. It'll be hard finding a replacement, so I'd like as much notice as I can."

"I'll get you an answer soon," Gia promised. Eric nodded his head then walked himself out of the building. Rebecca excused herself to get to work while Emma put her hand on Gia's shoulder.

"We have this under control," she promised. "And I promise, I'll update you on everything once you get back to work. If you come back, of course."

"Is it bad?"

"Not yet," Emma shook her head. "Schools are taking extra precautions already, though. I've already been to Joe and Ciara's school to talk to them about protocol, so I don't think we need to worry about the kids. Right now, to keep the panic down, we're only advising that everyone be more vigilant about their surroundings."

"We have to reassure them Oedius won't strike again."

"We can't," Emma shook her head. "Not unless the ninjas are okay with us telling them that Hayley's mom was killed because she's a Ranger mom, and that Sarah and her family were only targets because… well, Sarah's dad betrayed Oedius."

"We can't do that," Gia said, and Emma nodded.

"So, we have to act like these are random attacks," she told her. "But we have our statement out, we have Silver Guardians working with the police to patrol the cities and we're putting extra emphasis on training our guys to handle monsters. Hopefully, Oedius lays low for a while and something else gets the media's attention."

"I…"

"Just go home, Gia," Emma said. "I promise, if there's anything you need to know, I'll tell you."

Gia nodded her head. Suddenly, it seemed a bit clearer what she would do. Despite her instincts, she left.

-Ninja-Steel-

Bedtime had been… fun. Calvin could remember hating bedtime as a child, and always finding he had more energy after his parents told him to get his pyjamas on than before. It seemed the same was true with the Rangers. While their energy had been starting to drop as the evening wore on, it was an all-out war to get them to brush their teeth and into the respective beds.

"Sarah…" he scolded when he heard one of the bedroom doors opening. The pink Ranger looked like a deer in the headlights when she realized she was caught.

"But it's such a good idea," she said and pointed to her notebook on the table. "Please?"

"If it's such a good idea, it can wait until the morning," Calvin told her and ushered her into bed.

"But I might forget it," Sarah insisted as Calvin tucked her in. "It's for Hayley and when people…"

"You don't need to worry about Hayley," Calvin assured her. "She's fine."

"But _you_ don't understand."

"I know," Calvin nodded. "But trust me, if there was a gadget that could fix those mean people, someone would have invented it already."

"Yeah, me."

"Goodnight," Calvin said as he shut off the light and closed the door. He made his way to the couch, "You had to talk to her about that, huh?"

"She was willing to listen," Hayley answered with a shrug. "Besides, she witnessed it. What was I supposed to do?"

"She brings up a good point," Calvin said. "I don't understand. If I'm honest… I'm kind of not comfortable even talking about it."

"We don't have to."

"But… it's an issue," Calvin said. "And while it'd like to pretend it doesn't matter because… it shouldn't… it does."

"What do you want to know?" Hayley asked, turning to face him. Calvin shrugged nervously.

"Has anyone hurt you?"

"Not physically," Hayley shook her head. "Summer Cove's pretty good for that. It's why my parents moved here when I was little."

"But that happens," Calvin said. "To other people. Does that scare you?"

"It does," Hayley nodded.

"All the time?"

"I don't really like walking alone, though it's more than just because of my skin," Hayley said. "Kind of why I like when you pick me up for school in the morning."

"I can do that more," Calvin offered, but Hayley shook her head.

"You drive me almost every day," she chuckled. "And I don't want to have to rely on that. If you want to help just… do what Sarah did. If you see something unfair, say something. They'll listen to you a lot more than they'll listen to me."

"But I know nothing about it," Calvin said. "They should listen to you. You live it. Every day apparently and…"

"It's not fair, but it's how it works," Hayley told him. "Just speak up. And when we have kids…"

"Kids, huh?" Calvin smirked, and Hayley playfully smacked his arm.

"When we have kids, believe them," Hayley said. "You might not want to believe what they say happens, or what they say other kids are saying to them, but you have to. I want then to be able to talk to both of us about this stuff."

"Even if I know nothing?"

"Yeah," Hayley nodded. "And like I said, people will believe you more. Parents of any kid accused of saying or doing something might call me oversensitive, so you'll have to defend them."

"Always," Calvin promised. "And Hayl… I really am sorry."

"You don't have to be," Hayley assured him with a smile. "But thank you."


	6. Overconfidence and Lack of Faith

Breakfast went a little better than lunch. Rather than cooking something that would need an alternate meal for Preston, Hayley stuck to simple bacon and eggs. Everyone could eat it, everyone loved it, and cooking one meal was much easier than two.

The kids were also a little better behaved in the morning. Hayley hoped it was because the novelty of having kids had somewhat worn off, but she was also certain that her friends looked a little older than the night before.

"You think this will wear off on its own?" she asked Calvin as they finished their breakfast. Levi and Brody were on the couch playing video games, Preston was using his new magic kit to learn some new tricks and Kelly and Sarah were keeping busy in Sarah's room.

"Maybe we're just used to them being little, so it doesn't feel as shocking," Calvin suggested.

"I swear, they seem a bit older," Hayley insisted. "And I hope I'm right because that'll mean the spell is already wearing off."

"I hope you're right too," Calvin nodded. He watched the boys playing for a moment. "Do you think they know at all that this is a spell?"

"Levi insists his name is Aiden."

"Well, it is."

"But he's got no recollection of calling himself Levi," Hayley pointed out. "You'd think, if they did remember anything, he wouldn't correct us every time they forget."

"Do you think they'll remember any of this when they're back to normal?" Calvin asked.

"We'll find out," Hayley shrugged, then checked the time. It was the weekend, so she had nowhere to be, but if she had learned anything from the day before it was that spending an entire day inside wouldn't work for anyone. The kids would get cranky, she would get cranky and that would be the start of another lunch time mess. "Think we should take them outside for a bit? Get the boys away from the TV for a while?"

"Sounds like a plan," Calvin nodded. "I'll do the dishes while you get them ready?"

Hayley passed her plate to Calvin who started to work on all the dishes piled up in the sink. She walked over to the TV and shut it off. Levi threw his hands up and Brody looked like he was going to yell. Fortunately, Hayley knew what they would want to hear.

"We're going to play outside for a bit," she said. "You two can try doing some of that ninja training you were telling me about last night."

She didn't mind letting them train. One very vivid, very happy memory both boys had always shared with her and the other Rangers was training with their father. From a young age they had started to learn the ways of the ninja and so Hayley was confident that as long as they were practicing and not play fighting, they would be safe. She let them run ahead outside while she turned to Preston. "You can keep practicing magic, just do it outside, alright?"

"Okay," Preston agreed and following his friends outside. Hayley turned to Calvin, impressed with herself on how that went. She had been expecting a little bit more pushback from the boys when she turned off their game, and thought Preston might object to magic outside for any reason.

"We're really getting the hang of it," he told her with a smile.

Hayley got the girls to go outside as well and followed the kids out. Calvin was right behind after he finished with the dishes.

Brody and Levi were getting along well with their training and had even gotten Sarah and Kelly to join them. The three were even being exceptionally patient with teaching Kelly some moves and helping her to adapt them with her chair. Preston kept to himself, but for as long as Hayley and Calvin had known him, he had liked practicing magic by himself, and hadn't had a group of friends until them. To be sure, they asked if he felt like joining the others, but Preston assured them he was more than happy with his magic.

"We'll be awesome parents," Calvin said confidently to Hayley, who rolled her eyes.

"We're not having five kids, though," she told him. "Two is more than enough for me."

"I pictured three."

"Then you'll be giving birth to one of them," Hayley insisted. "Or having them with someone else."

"We can figure that out later," Calvin chuckled. As comfortable as he was talking about children and his future with Hayley, it was still the distant future. Neither planned on having kids anytime soon. Still, having the Ranger children did make him feel more confident about his skills as a father when the time came. Aside from a few messes and some temper tantrums, there really wasn't much to worry about.

Feeling relaxed, and curious about a trick he witnessed Preston do, Calvin went to join the young blue Ranger in his tricks. He hoped maybe he could learn more about it, and then impress Preston when he was back to normal. Hayley watched, and chuckled as Calvin failed to learn a trick Preston claimed was so easy, babies could do it.

It was then that Hayley and Calvin started to hear it. It wasn't much to think of at first. The Rangers were calling Sarah's name, asking her if she was okay. The Rangers were training and while they were young, Calvin and Hayley had seen enough to know that they were being careful and friendly with each other. They weren't sparing or getting aggressive. But when the calls continued, without a response, and Brody, Levi and Kelly all started to sound more distressed, the yellow and white Rangers looked over. Sarah was on the ground, unmoving and her friends were standing around her. Levi looked up and called for Hayley and Calvin to rush over. Hayley was over first, while Calvin took care not to worry Preston until he was sure there was something to worry about.

Levi took it on himself to explain.

"We were just practicing," he said. "I was teaching them to do a kick. I told them to take some space, but Sarah didn't move."

"What do you mean?"

"She just stood there," Kelly clarified.

"I didn't mean it!" Brody called out and Hayley could see he was holding back tears. "I thought she moved away. Levi said everyone move and… I didn't mean it! Is she dead?"

Hayley shook her head as she checked to make sure Sarah was breathing. She had an assumption of what happened, but wanted to rule everything else out, just in case. When she felt Sarah's breath on her hand, then felt her pulse seemed steady, she turned to Brody.

"You didn't hurt her."

"I kicked her, and she fell," Brody said. Calvin made his way over, a worried Preston on his tail.

"What happened?"

"Can you take the boys and Kelly inside?" Hayley asked.

"Is everything okay?"

"I think it's just a seizure," Hayley said. "The doctor said they might be more common, right?"

"Yeah… yeah, I think that's what Sarah said."

"Did I hurt her?" Brody asked again. Levi put his arms around his brother.

"Hayley said she would be okay," he assured him, but Brody didn't seem comforted by the gold Rangers' words at all.

"I didn't mean it," he insisted again.

"There's some snacks in the cupboard," Hayley told Calvin, then looked to Brody. "I promise, Sarah is going to be fine. Next time you see her, you can tell her yourself how this was an accident, okay?"

Brody nodded his head, but he still wasn't assured. Levi took his hand and with the others they walked back to Ninja Ops. Hayley sat in the grass next to Sarah, keep track of the pink Ranger until she woke up. She had never thought to ask what to look for in a seizure, since Sarah was often with her mother or with Kelly, who had read up about them right after Sarah's initial diagnosis. Now, she wished she had.

She remember Kelly saying that as long as the seizure didn't last long, didn't reoccur before Sarah could recover, and that Sarah seemed to start bouncing back once the episode was over, there was nothing to worry about. Fortunately, as Sarah started to come too, she seemed more upset than in need of medical attention. Hayley gently stroked her face.

"Hey, Trouble," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"

Sarah grunted her response. Hayley let out a little chuckle.

"You had a little seizure, Sarah," she told her. "You're gonna be fine, but I'm gonna take you inside with the others, okay?"

Sarah grunted again. Hayley lifted her slowly into her arms to carry her back inside.

"Brody feels pretty bad. He thinks it's his fault. Do you remember what happened?"

As Sarah rested her head on Hayley's shoulder, she shook her head.

"You'll be fine," Hayley assured her again and took her back inside.

Meanwhile, off in the distance, Oedius was sitting on a park bench. Even seated, she found herself in a tremendous amount of pain and was cradling her ribs with one hand, while the other rested in a makeshift sling her crew had fashioned for her upon her return from her fight with the pink Ranger and the Silver Guardian.

She was in no condition to fight, and the monsters on her ship were wearing thin. When the Rangers blew up the ship, destroying Galvanax, they had taken all his crew down with him. Oedius had taken some time to collect new monsters who would fight by her side and serve her loyally, but few in the Galaxy felt brave enough to challenge the Rangers after what happened to their hero Galvanax, and even more felt the challenge wasn't worthwhile. Earth had nothing for them, and with Oedius insisting that a victory would put her as ruler of the planet, there would really be nothing for them to gain from destroying the Rangers.

But that wouldn't stop her. She had sent out a monster capable of turning people into children, hoping that would be enough to destroy the Rangers, but he had failed miserably. Instead of losing the rest of her crew, Oedius decided to wait it out. She would gather more information on the Rangers, find new ways to hurt them, and hopefully, when she returned, she would finally be able to kill them all for good.

Back inside Ninja Ops, Hayley brought Sarah inside and took her to her room to rest. Sarah was always tired after an episode, so it was best to leave her be. Brody, still upset, was being comforted by Calvin, who wasn't sure what to say.

"Why don't you go say sorry to Sarah before she goes for a nap?" Hayley suggested. Levi agreed with this and walked his brother into Sarah's room to make the apology. Calvin then collapsed on the couch, with Hayley falling next to him. They both let out a sigh.

"It wasn't just me, right?" he asked. "Things were going super well right before."

"We were getting a little cocky," Hayley admitted. "I kind of thought this parenting thing was kind of easy."

"Did your heart stop for a minute?" Calvin turned to her. "Like, a dead stop. You thought you were going to die."

"Kind of thought Sarah was dead," Hayley nodded. "It took everything I had not to freak out in front of the kids."

"You were awesome though," he praised her. "You handled it like a pro."

"No more thinking this will be easy, though," Hayley told him as she looked him in the eyes. "We can't get cocky and we can't…"

The TV suddenly switched on. Hayley and Calvin remembered that Kelly and Preston were sitting at the table, eating the snack Calvin had put out for them. For a moment, they worried that the two had heard them talk, but it seemed the kids were in a world on their own before they found the remote and agreed to watch TV.

It switched onto the news, which had been the last station the Rangers had watched. Hayley and Calvin used it after their fight with the monster to make sure that the only casualties of his attack were the Rangers.

This time, they weren't covering the aftermath of the Ranger attack. This time, the news was focused on Oedius' attack on Silver Guardian's HQ.

which was worse, the first words Preston and Kelly heard, "Is the world ending?"

"Are we dying?" Preston asked worried. Calvin jumped over the couch to snatch the remote from his hand on turn off the TV while Hayley shook her head.

"It's the news. They exaggerate everything."

"But she said the world is ending," Kelly said and her face mirrored Preston's. Panic, worry. "They don't lie on the news! They can't!"

"They kind of can," Calvin said. He ushered the kids out of their chairs, put their snacks in their hands and told them they could eat in the other room. When they wouldn't go, he went to his candy stash and gave them each a bag of chips. "Here. Eat as much as you want."

Still a little upset, but also excited at the idea of unlimited chips, the two went off into the other room, calling on Levi and Brody as they came out of Sarah's room. Hayley and Calvin sighed, then when they were sure the kids were busy munching on chips, they turned the TV back on.

"I thought they weren't going to show the footage," Calvin said. "You know, to keep people from finding out about Oedius attacking again."

"It leaked, I guess," Hayley shrugged.

They listened as a reporter interviewed someone from Summer Cove, asking how safe they felt living in the city with all the attacks that occurred, and if that person felt there was a reason to worry.

"Have you not seen the kind of troubles these monsters have done over the last few years?" the person answered. "I mean, we had a whole Armada invade the planet. It's not really a stretch to imagine they might try it again."

"Last time it was Harwood County at the center of it. Do you think we could see devastation like they did?"

"I don't know why the monsters picked Summer Cove," the person answered the reporter. "It's not like we've really got anything they want."

"Ninja steel," Calvin and Hayley said to each other.

"But they've chosen us and if things escalate again, I can't see Summer Cove surviving at all."

"Last time the Power Rangers showed up and stopped the Armada," the reporter said. "You don't have faith that when they'll be needed, they'll show up again?"

"They barely won," the person said. "It took hundreds of them to stop the Armada and whose to say we have that Power again. Even if they did, Harwood was completely devastated. Almost no one survived, and there were casualties around the world. The Rangers stopped a full invasion, but they couldn't stop a tragedy. They can't even stop these monsters for good. It's been what? Twenty-five years and we still see monsters attacking on a regular basis?"

"So, what's the plan?" the reporter asked.

"We demand better from these Rangers," the person said. "I know that's what I want. They didn't even show up to those last two attacks. Hell, we don't even know who they are!"

"You want the Rangers to reveal themselves?"

"Show their faces at least," the person nodded. "Or just show up. If a monster is out there, killing people, or trying to, those Rangers had better show up and get the job done, or we're not going to be happy."

"What's that mean?" the reporter asked. "If the Rangers don't step up, what are you going to do?"

"They won't like it," the person answered vaguely.

Hayley and Calvin looked to each other, unsure of what to do.

-Ninja-Steel-

" _What's that mean?" the reporter asked. "If the Rangers don't step up, what are you going to do?"_

" _They won't like it," the person answered vaguely._

Gia flicked off the TV as the front door opened. Ciara raced into the house to find her mother and jumped into her arms for a tight hug.

"How was school?" Gia asked her daughter. Ciara held up the craft she had made proudly.

"I got to bring this home."

"That looks awesome," Gia said. "Why don't you go put it on the wall in your room and you can tell me all about it at bedtime."

"Okay," Ciara smiled. She hopped off her mother's lap. "After I put it on the wall, can I go to Aunt Emma's for a snack?"

"She's home already?" Gia asked, directing this question at Jake. He nodded.

"We picked up the kids together," he told her.

"Please, mommy," Ciara begged. Gia gave a little nod.

"Go through the backyard, please," she told her daughter who raced off. When she was gone, Gia looked at Jake. "Isn't work busy?"

"The place doesn't fall apart without you," Jake chuckled as he set Ciara's bag down and took the spot next to his wife. "Everyone likes to think it does, but people can manage on their own."

"It's not that. I stopped by and it seems they're on the brink of a crisis…"

"They can handle you being gone a few more weeks," Jake continued to laugh.

"Not a work crisis, a city crisis," Gia said as she gestured to the TV. "People are starting to panic. Word got out that Oedius struck again and no one's happy about it."

"Can't blame them."

"Jake, they just interviewed a guy on TV who was asking the Rangers to do more."

"The city turned on us once, remember?"

"Yeah, but…"

"The new guys can handle it. Now if you're okay, can I head over to Emma's for a snack?"

"Go through the backyard," Gia muttered. Jake kissed her on the cheek, thanked her, then headed out with his daughter. Gia rolled her eyes, then turned the TV on again.


	7. Secrets Spilled

It was happening again. Repeated cries, calling out one name. First slow, then in a panic.

Hayley sprung up, panicked herself as the first thought to cross her mind was that Sarah was having another seizure, or that one of the other kids had hurt themselves. It was bright and early in the morning, but she and Calvin had already decided not to get too cocky. Trouble could strike whenever.

Then she heard her name being called out. The Ranger kids were all together, so they were calling for her to come. Still, there could have been an emergency, but Hayley reasoned with herself that it also could have just been a nightmare.

As she crawled out of bed, she recognized it was Kelly's voice calling for her. As she walked out of the room, she realized it wasn't coming from the bedroom, but from the bathroom. Hayley knocked on the closed door.

"Kelly?"

"Hayley," Kelly called back. Her voice sounded a bit older than the night before. Maybe the spell was wearing off. "Hayley, I think I'm sick."

"Are you throwing up?" Hayley asked. "Can I come in?"

"No!" Kelly shouted through the door. "Don't come in!"

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" Silence was the only response. "Kelly? What's wrong?"

"It's a little embarrassing."

"Just tell me."

"I'm bleeding."

"What? Where?"

"That's the embarrassing part," Kelly said.

"Oh," Hayley answered. Then her eyes widened as Kelly's dilemma occurred to her. "OH!"

"What do I do?" Kelly asked.

"Um… hold on. I'll check my purse," Hayley said. She walked back into her bedroom and started to dig through her purse. As she did, she glanced over at Calvin, still sound asleep, and cursed him for his ability to sleep through anything. While it was better that she had gotten up, and while she knew she would have had to get out of bed regardless, part of her wished that Calvin had been woken up too.

She found a tampon and while she wasn't sure Kelly would be comfortable with it, it was all she had. She brought it back to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"I have a tampon. Can I come in?"

"I… I guess," Kelly answered. Hayley opened the door and out of respect for Kelly's privacy, offered her the tampon without looking. "So, what do I do?" Kelly asked.

Hayley coached her through it, a task the white Ranger once imagined she wouldn't have to do for over a decade still. Kelly seemed uncomfortable, but Hayley's assurance that everything would be fine helped.

"You good?" Hayley asked after a moment of silence. Kelly nodded her head.

"Yeah. Can you go now? I have to wash up."

"Right," Hayley said and left the bathroom in a hurry.

Levi and Brody had gotten out of bed while she had been in the bathroom. They had made themselves breakfast. Since Hayley wasn't trying to not look, she could see that they were significantly older than the night before. She would guess early teens. She hoped that meant the spell would completely wear off soon.

"Were you and Kelly just in there together?" Brody asked. Hayley shook her head.

"Don't ask."

"Okay," they answered together and went back to eating their bowls of cereal. Hayley was grateful they weren't too curious as she went to make herself breakfast. Shortly after, Kelly came out of the bathroom. She seemed more than a little awkward, especially since she wasn't expecting to bump into the boys.

"Oh… uh… hi?"

"Cereal?" Brody pushed the box across the table. Kelly shook her head.

"Not hungry."

"We can head to the pharmacy when I'm done breakfast," Hayley told her. Kelly nodded.

"Thanks."

"Are you sick?" Levi asked. Kelly didn't know how to answer. Fortunately, Hayley knew what to say.

"Stomach bug," she said. "Just leave her alone for now."

"Fine by me," Levi said and Brody nodded.

-Ninja-Steel-

Returning to work wasn't a question for Gia anymore. It was a certainty. She had filled out the forms that Eric had sent her and returned them through email.

She knew the warning signs that a war was brewing. With Oedius attacking, no one felt safe. Unless she could reveal the identities of the Rangers and explain they were Oedius' targets, the city had a right to think that they were in harm's way. Oedius was no longer hiding behind monsters but coming out and doing the dirty work herself.

And she was fierce. Gia had fought her, and while she hadn't had her team behind her for support, even she could feel the power that Oedius had. She was a threat, much more than any other monster Gia had faced before. The Rangers had their hands full and the last thing they needed right now was a city that didn't believe in them.

The Silver Guardians were trying to minimize the panic. They were promising that they were doing all they could to help in the event of another attack, but it seemed that wasn't enough. Comparisons were being drawn between Oedius and the Armada. Back in her day, the Armada had successfully invaded the planet and with Harwood at the center of it, there was devastating destruction. Gia remembered hiding from Armada soldiers who wanted her dead. She remembered facing her own execution. She remembered losing Ms. Chesterfield in that war and later hearing all the stories of people who had lost their families as well.

She remembered the countless stories of families completely wiped out by the war. Harwood was still rebuilding, and many people were still scared to return to the city. A large memorial had been put at the center of the city in memory of all the people lost. There were many names and a smaller memorial in honour of the people who had died but were forgotten or unidentified.

Everyone had suffered when the Armada attacked, and unfortunately, Gia felt Oedius could do the same. In fact, with her cunning, her determination, and her patience – something neither Vrak nor Vekkar ever really possessed – she could do a lot worse.

She couldn't sit back. She couldn't quit her job, and she couldn't stop being a Ranger. Both were part of her identity. Not to mention, it wasn't just a city or two that risked destruction. Her family, her daughter, were in danger. If Oedius did win…

Gia didn't want to think about it. She had to do what she could to help the current team of Rangers.

-Ninja-Steel-

Though Serena had teased Hayley and Calvin for having to look after Ranger children, she did come back to help. After spending time with her own family, she made some time to check in on the new Rangers. She arrived at Ninja Ops, expecting a bit of a mess, but instead, finding that Hayley and Calvin seemed to have things under control, and instead of Ranger children, it appeared they were Ranger teens. Younger, than usual, but much older than when Serena left.

"Okay, we had a much harder time," Serena said. "Tell me you at least had a couple tantrums and grey hair moments."

"We definitely had those," Hayley assured her with a laugh as she shared a look with Calvin. He nodded his head.

"Parenting is hard," he confirmed. Serena couldn't help but agree.

"They looked older. Did Mick find a cure for it?"

"Not yet," Calvin answered her. "We told him what was happening. We don't think we need a cure but he and RedBot are making sure there won't be any side effects once it wears off."

"Sounds good," Serena nodded before she checked to make sure none of the others were within ear shot. While she was sure that they were now old enough to understand what was going on and to make their own decision on whether they wanted to help or not, she didn't want to panic them needlessly. Teenagers were magnets for drama and blowing things out of proportion. "You guys watch the news?"

"With the angry people?" Calvin confirmed and pointed to the TV. "Every night after the kids went to bed."

"You don't think they'll turn against us?" Hayley asked. "I mean… we're the good guys. We're protecting them."

"Some people don't see it that way," Serena informed her. "A lot of people need someone to blame. It doesn't help when Oedius attacks and the Rangers never show up to stop her."

"She attacked us," Calvin reminded her. "We were there."

"Not in spandex," Serena said. "The spandex is all the people see. When Mrs. Foster died, there was no spandex on scene. They don't know about the workshop explosion, but they did know about the Silver Guardian's HQ."

"They know Gia's a Ranger."

"Retired," Serena said. "And she was the only one they saw. There were no Ninja Steel Rangers who turned up to the scene after Oedius' attack."

"But we destroyed that baby-maker monster," Calvin pointed out. "We saved the city there."

"Just… watch your backs," Serena warned them. "Everyone who knows about you can be trusted, right?"

"It's just Rangers," Hayley confirmed. "Well, and my dad. Otherwise, we've been pretty good at keeping our identities under wraps."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

-Ninja-Steel-

A little way out of downtown Summer Cove was the women's prison. It wasn't a place that people often visited but it was busy. Prisoners would spend their days wandering around, trying to pass the time and keep busy while behind bars and guards were always vigilant, keeping an eye out to protect themselves, each other, the prisoners and the city.

It wasn't an easy job, guarding prisoners. The guards were tough, sometimes too tough and often forceful. Kathryn didn't mind. She liked rough men and the women didn't scare her. She was worse.

She did hate prison, though. She hated feeling confined. She was used to following orders and having someone keep track of her every move, but she missed her freedom.

Especially now. The Silver Guardians' advice to worried cities was to keep a watchful eye. Schools were taking extra precautions to keep their students and staff safe and the prisons were doing just the same. Hours outside her cell had been severely restricted to help the guards better keep track of prisoners' whereabouts. Oedius had already broken a prisoner out of the men's jail. There was no denying it was possible she would strike here.

Kathryn wasn't sure about that, but she was sure about something. Since her incarceration, she had been telling anyone who would listen that she knew the identity of the pink Ranger. She had watched her own daughter morph in front of her eyes and knew, without a doubt, that it was Sarah who fought in the pink spandex.

Unfortunately, no one who mattered believed her. Other prisoners who listened to her stories knew she was telling the truth, but her lawyer never believed her, at least not enough to want to let that information out, and none of the guards believed her either. She was in prison for life, for multiple different and cruel charges. She didn't look the part, but she was a huge risk to the general population and had avoided prison for most of her life already.

Everyone believed that she was trying to spin a story, get herself some attention, maybe earn a retrial and use the Power Rangers as an escape.

Now, though, her story might work. On the TV in the rec room she had seen that people outside were starting to turn against the Rangers. They wanted to know their identities – and it seemed Kathryn was the only person willing to spill.

One of the guards came around to check on her and the other prisoners. He was a big guy, but he wasn't as tough as the others. He liked talking with the prisoners – getting their stories, understanding why they had chosen the life they had, or how they had fallen into it. He was, by far, the nicest of the guards and while that kindness and compassion often sickened Kathryn, today, she felt it might be able to work in her favour.

He stopped in front of her cell and looked in, "'Morning, Kathryn. How are you?"

"I'm feeling pretty good," she told him. He stopped, his attention on her.

"Oh yeah? Good day planned?"

"You keep up with the news?"

"Always."

"The Rangers..."

"Hate 'em," the guard nodded. "I mean, they do good work. They're kind of law enforcement, I guess, so I don't really want to talk bad about them but… I've never liked the masks."

"You want to know who they are, huh?"

"We're risking our lives too," the guard said. "But at least we have the courage to show our faces to the world when we do it. When we screw up, we face the consequences. That Madam Oedius monster has attacked people, one of our own even, twice now and the Rangers don't show up?"

"Kind of makes you think they only care when they're the ones under fire," Kathryn pointed out. "You know, like when the monsters come after them or the city as a whole, they fight back, but if she's just targeting a few people, they're nowhere to be found."

"I never thought of it like that, but… you know, that makes a lot of sense. Seems like they're really only out to protect themselves."

"So how can we trust them, right?"

"Never really have," the guard nodded. "The masks; remember?"

"What if I told you I knew who was behind the mask?" Kathryn suggested with a smirk. The guard leaned in.

"Another crazy story?"

"All my stories are true," Kathryn rolled her eyes. "I did have an encounter with the pink Ranger. I saw her face. I know her."

"For real?"

"What do I have to gain?" Kathryn asked. "You think they'll cut my sentence short for spilling the beans. Even if they knock ten years off, I'm still going to die in this cell."

"Who is it, then?"

"Sarah Thompson."

"Your kid?" the guard laughed. "Kathryn, that's rich."

"I'm telling you," Kathryn said. "You never wondered how she escaped, twice? Drex and I, we brought dozens of women into our business and they either never wanted out, or couldn't get out. You don't think, the one who did, twice, doesn't have a little extra… power?"

The guard stroked his chin. It did make sense. Kathryn had kidnapped her own daughter, twice, and twice, Sarah had managed to escape. Not to mention, he did remember hearing a story from the men's prison about Kathryn's older child – her son. He had been locked up as well for kidnapping. Once again, his victim had been Sarah.

Three times the young woman had been kidnapped and three times she managed to get out.

"You're making a lot of sense."

"Of course, I am. Really think about it. That Silver Guardian – the blonde with the tiger. She mostly works in Angel Grove. Every time my daughter's involved, so is she. Doesn't matter what else is happening in the city, that guardian takes my daughter's cases."

"I mean, police work is police work…"

"But really? You have a whole city to watch and you leave it behind for a kidnapping case? One the regular police can handle?"

"I guess that is a bit odd when you think about it," the guard nodded. "You may be onto something, Kathryn."


	8. Rumours and Truth

"I can't tell you how relieved we are you're back to normal," Calvin said as they cleared away some of the furniture in Ninja Ops. Brody, Levi, Sarah, Preston and Kelly were back to their regular age and so it felt right that they do a little bit of training to make sure everything was back to normal.

"I can't believe you two managed alone," Levi said. "I love all my fans but… the kids always strike me as a little rowdy, especially when they come up in a group. I couldn't imagine juggling the five of us with no experience."

"It was tough," Hayley nodded as she smirked at the gold Ranger. "I've got to say, you were a bit of a little shit."

"Me? No?" Levi said, brushing off her comment, but Brody looked like he wanted to add something.

"Not saying you weren't a good big brother," he said. "But you could be a little competitive or bossy sometimes."

"You ate my grilled cheese," Sarah reminded him.

"You said you weren't hungry and I was," Levi defended himself. "Besides, Hayley made you another sandwich."

"Don't even get me started on meals," Hayley shook her head. "Finding something you guys would all eat, without complaining felt like a full-time job. And someone was no help."

Calvin looked around the room before he pointed to himself. "Me? I helped."

"Toys instead of clothes? Suggesting we eat whatever for breakfast lunch and dinner…"

"I still love my magic kit," Preston said in Calvin's defence. The yellow Ranger turned to blue.

"You owe me for that, by the way."

"You handled my seizure pretty well," Sarah said to Hayley. "And that… talk we had."

"And that talk we had," Kelly added. "Which we'll never talk about again."

"Agreed."

"All in all, you guys did pretty good as surrogate parents for a few days," Brody told his two teammates with a smile. He wanted to say more, but he heard a cell phone go off. Every Ranger pulled out their phone to check, but Sarah's was the one that had come to life.

"Mine!" she told them before answering. "Hey, Shane. What's up?"

" _Where are you?"_

"Ninja Ops. Why?"

" _Turn on the news."_

"Okay…" Sarah responded as she reached to pick up the remote. There were very few channels available to the Rangers. The TV in the base was just for video games and keeping up with their Ranger duties. The news was already on when the TV came to life. Sarah and the others gathered around the couch to watch it. The headline at the bottom of the screen had a countdown clock, with the words "Who is the pink Ranger?" written next to it.

" _Rumours are starting to fly about the identity of the pink Ranger. We have reason to believe that she's just a teenager, attending Summer Cove High and expecting to graduate at the end of the year. As these rumours circulate, we've asked people what their thoughts are."_

The camera's attention shifted from the reporter to a teenager, standing on Summer Cove High's football field. He was at practice with his team, explaining his presence on the weekend. The reported turned to him to ask a question.

" _So, what do you think about the rumours that the pink Ranger might be one of your classmates?"_

" _I mean… I guess it's possible."_

" _Do you have any ideas on who it might be?"_

" _It's a big school,"_ the boy answered. _"It's not anyone on the football team, though, that's for sure. None of the cheerleaders either. I don't really hang with anyone else so…"_

" _So, you don't have any theories?"_

" _None," the player answered._

The shot then shifted to the streets of Summer Cove, where another reporter was standing next to a man.

" _What do you think about the rumours on the pink Ranger being just a teenager?"_

" _It's ridiculous,"_ the man answered. _"Kind of confirms what we've been saying. These Rangers aren't here to protect us. Clearly, they're just kids."_

" _So, you would feel more comfortable if it was an adult, someone in their twenties or thirties, was in the suit?"_

" _A lot more comfortable than I do now,"_ the man answered.

"You don't think they know it's one of us, right?" Preston asked. "I mean… a senior at our school? That kind of narrows it down."

"No one else knows about us, right?" Hayley asked the Rangers. "Everyone who knows, we trust completely."

"The only people who know are Rangers themselves and our dads," Brody said with a shrug.

"Shane," Sarah said into the phone. "You don't think any of the other Rangers would have leaked it, do you?"

"Absolutely not. Sarah, I need you to be really careful," Shane told her. "Promise me you'll watch your back."

"Promise," Sarah said before saying goodbye to her uncle while she and the others returned to watching the news.

" _Victor Vincent here,"_ Victor said when the shot came to him. The Rangers all rolled their eyes. Of course, he would find a way to be on TV. _"Class president, senior, and all around great guy here at Summer Cove High."_

" _Victor, you've attended school here for a few years now,"_ the reporter said. _"You know many of your classmates, right?"_

" _I make a habit of it,"_ Victor said, then flashed the camera a smile. He seemed more interested in holding the camera's attention and keeping the focus on him than answering the questions. _"As class president, four years in a row, by the way, I need to keep my people happy. To do that, I have to sit down with as many people as I can and find out how I can make school better for them."_

"He's never talked to me," Preston shook his head. "Unless it was to diss my magic shows."

"He tried to welcome me to the school when I started," Sarah mentioned.

"He didn't welcome me," Brody frowned.

"He welcomed me," Kelly stated.

"Well, that's telling," Levi chuckled.

" _Are there any classmates you think might have the potential to be the pink Ranger, or any Ranger, for that matter?"_

" _I mean, we all have potential,"_ Victor said and once again, flashed a smile to the camera. _"But no one has more potential than me. I've won the most trophies at school, I get the best grades…"_

"Hardly," Sarah muttered.

" _I'm just all around, the best student this school has ever seen."_

" _And you're not a Ranger?"_

" _I mean, if I was, I definitely wouldn't have kept it a secret,"_ Victor shook his head. _"The Power Rangers, well, they have a lot of power. If that were me in the suit, I'd make sure people know who I am, so they know I'm a friendly face they can trust to get the job done."_

" _So, you agree with most of our viewers? The Rangers, by hiding behind their masks, are being dishonest?"_

" _I can't say that,"_ Victor answered. _"I can just tell you that if it was me, I'd be honest."_

" _There you have it,"_ the reporter said as she shifted herself to face the camera. _"From the words of Summer Cove's class president himself, our Rangers hiding their identities is proof we shouldn't trust them. We'll take a few minutes for the weather, but make sure you stay tuned. Our reveal of the pink Ranger's identity is just ten minutes away!"_

"It's got to be a guess," Calvin stated. "I mean… the spandex doesn't really hide much."

"No, it doesn't," Kelly commented.

"So, I can believe they might be able to guess we're in high school, but… they aren't going to call one of us out, are they?"

"Is it better if they don't?" Hayley asked. "I mean, at least if they guess Sarah or I, we can figure something out. What if they guess someone other than us and blame them for everything?"

"Guys, it's back." Preston pointed to the TV and the Rangers stopped talking.

" _Summer Cove. A once peaceful city. We've been witnesses to monster attacks, which have happened in cities across our state, country, and occasionally, across the planet. Here, though, we've been perfectly safe. Until 2017, when our first monster appeared. The Rangers were on the scene, fighting them off, helping people to safety and seemingly doing all they could to help keep the peace. But has the novelty worn off?"_

A man in uniform – it looked like some branch of law enforcement – appeared on the screen.

" _Really think about it,"_ he said. _"This Madam Oedius fellow has been targeting individuals. She's not after the city anymore. And where are the Rangers?"_

" _Mr. Kostoris, you were the one who initially revealed to us the identity of the pink Ranger. Without spoiling the reveal, can you tell us how you put the pieces together?"_

" _I work in the women's prison,"_ Kostoris answered and immediately Sarah's face fell. There was one person, who she had forgotten about, who knew her identity. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Sarah, isn't your birth mother in prison?" Levi asked, almost innocently. Sarah nodded her head.

"I morphed in front of her once," she nodded. "Oh god, someone believed her?"

Kostoris continued, _"A lot of our inmates might say anything to earn themselves a get out of jail free card. While we have some who are proud of their actions, if you were to ask almost any of the women, most would say they were innocent. They'll use anything they can to get a re-trial, or to get their sentence revoked completely."_

" _So, you received this information from an inmate. Is it really trustworthy?"_

" _I doubted it at first too, but she continued to explain her logic to me and… I have to say, it makes sense."_

" _What are some of the pieces to this puzzle, then?"_

" _I work in corrections, so we don't deal with the arrests or investigate cases. We get people coming to us after that whole process is wrapped up. Still, we know what they're in for and from the news and just word of mouth in the business, we get to know the details. The kid my inmate says is the pink Ranger was tangled up in a few of the cases she was charged in."_

" _The inmate was charged?_

" _The pink Ranger was the victim,"_ Kostoris said, then lifted his hands to make air-quotes, _"Or, 'victim', I guess. She managed to get herself out of trouble a few times, which we mostly just consider lucky but… thinking she might be the pink Ranger, it would explain her escape three different times?"_

"Three?" Sarah frowned. "Mom only kidnapped me twice."

"Maybe it's not her," Kelly stated.

"We'll find out in five minutes," Brody said.

" _We work with very troubled, very difficult and dangerous women,"_ Kostoris said. _"They do a lot of harm to a lot of people. This inmate especially managed to stay on top of a bunch of her victims but this one gets away? There's got to be something more?"_

" _Any other connections?"_

" _Yeah. That Silver Guardian… what's her name?"_

" _Gia Holling?"_

" _Yeah. She was a yellow Ranger turned Silver Guardian after 'retirement'. Every case where this victim was involved, it was that Holling chick who took care of it. She's got at least a half dozen cities to look after, maybe more, but she always finds time for this one kid?"_

" _You think the Rangers are working together?"_

" _Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to find out she's back on the job as well,"_ Kostoris nodded.

" _You wouldn't happen to know the identities of the other Rangers, do you?"_

" _Naw, none of the others,"_ he shook his head. _"But that Victor kid from earlier, he seems a bit sketchy to me. Preaching about honesty? Sounds like a deflection to me."_

The reporter thanked Kostoris for the interview then looked to the camera. _"After the break, the reveal of the pink Ranger. Is she someone you know? Find out in just a moment!"_

"They know," Kelly said. "Making the connection to Gia? An inmate being the initial source…"

"So, they know our identities?" Brody shrugged. "It's not ideal but…"

"Actually," Calvin interrupted as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Serena came to talk to us about what's happening in the city and…"

"She really made it sound like people are pretty piss," Hayley continued. "I don't think it's good, at all, that anyone knows."

"So, what do we do?" Levi asked. "We're just minutes away from Sarah being outed and from there, it's not a huge leap to us, right? Do we just… all reveal ourselves after that?"

"Victor did say that the masks seemed dishonest," Preston said. "Maybe if we get ahead of this…"

"We'll see how much heat I take for this first," Sarah shook her head. "If people are really angry, we don't want them to start coming after us."

"But people might…"

"It they do guess me… I won't deny it," Sarah said. "And if it's not a friendly reception, I'll keep you guys out of it."

"You'll take the heat alone?" Kelly asked. "Is that smart?"

"It's better than us all getting assaulted when we're just trying to stop Oedius," Sarah nodded. "I promise, I'll be fine. You guys are cool just staying low for now."

The commercial ended as the news flashed up a shadow image with the caption "Pink Ranger Revealed" underneath, as well as some of the clues that the news had dropped in their build up to the reveal. While nothing called out Sarah specifically, all the details did describe her. She was a student at Summer Cove High. She did expect to graduate at the end of the year and she had moved to Summer Cove shortly before the Rangers appeared.

Then it happened. Her picture and her name flashed onto the screen. There was no denying it. The rumours were true.

Once Brody saw that, he shut off the TV. They didn't need to hear more. The city knew Sarah was the pink Ranger.

"Now what?" Preston asked.


	9. Controlled Burn

Gossip, rumours, whispers and stares were a staple of high school. The Rangers could all remember a time where they had been the center of attention, seemingly for no reason. For Levi, well, his career came with a lot of rumours. Everything he did since reaching the spotlight was scrutinized. People wanted to know everything.

Brody remembered first starting at the school. He had very little to say about himself, since he didn't want to tell everyone that he had been a prisoner on an alien spaceship for ten years. Rumours started to circulate about where he came from. They were harmless, but it was still people talking about him.

Calvin and Hayley remembered rumours circulating about their dating life. Since they were a very public couple around the school, a lot of eyes were on them. Once they started hanging out with the Rangers, and Calvin was seen with Sarah, and Hayley was seen with any of the boys, without the other with them, rumours would fly that they were cheating. This wasn't harmless, but Calvin and Hayley didn't buy into it. This was their relationship, so they wouldn't let others dictate what happened to them.

Preston never really had rumours. He had never been popular enough for people to care about his personal life – but he did always have people talking behind his back. He was no stranger to negativity. Most people weren't like him. He was shy, reserved and into magic; an easy target in high school.

Kelly didn't know of any rumours about her, but the school had isolated her once because of her own actions, and she was sure that in that time, everyone had something nasty to say about her behind her back.

With that knowledge, the Rangers weren't surprised when they returned to school only to hear that the sole topic of conversation, in every single conversation, was Sarah as the pink Ranger. Since they had predicted that, Sarah hadn't come to school. She had already decided with her friends to have them bring any important work home.

None of the Rangers wanted to go to school either, knowing what would await them, but Sarah insisted that if they were to keep up the ruse that they weren't Rangers, they would have to go.

Kelly arrived at school with Hayley and Calvin, as usual. As soon as she was inside the school she could feel all eyes turning to her – classmates – strangers – wondering if she had known about her girlfriend all along. Some classmates were reluctant to approach her. Others, not so much.

"Did you know?" straight to the point. They wanted answers and Kelly had to pretend like she had none. Keeping a solemn look, she shook her head.

"No idea."

"Really?" someone else asked.

"I didn't know," she insisted. She didn't have to explain herself more than that. The art to a good lie was not to give out too many details.

"She like… never disappeared and then the pink Ranger showed up?"

"None of us knew," Calvin said, stepping up to Kelly's aid. "We're all good friends. We all hang out with each other all the time. Sarah's just… good at keeping secrets."

"I think I'd know if my boyfriend was a Power Ranger," someone commented, obviously a little disappointed he wasn't getting more from Kelly.

"Can we not talk about it?" Kelly muttered as she started to make her way to the locker, pushing her way through the crowd of people. "It's kind of a sore subject."

It was true, but not for the reason people thought – another key to a good lie. Without details, it was possible to tell the truth, and still have no one catch on. She wasn't sore over the fact that Sarah was a Ranger and had hidden it from her, but she was sore over the fact that everyone had found out. Still, if she pretended to act sad – hurt, even – that Sarah had lied to her, it would help keep suspicion off her and the rest of her team.

"Are any of you Rangers?" someone asked. "You do all hang out together and wear their colours."

"I've been wearing yellow forever," Calvin said and gestured to his shirt. "It's my favourite colour. Check the yearbooks."

That was true too. Calvin had been fortunate to earn the yellow Power Star because it was already his favourite colour and already dominated his wardrobe. Hayley often wore white, too, before becoming a Power Ranger since she liked the way she looked in the colour and liked the cleanliness of it. He was sure that if anyone wanted to fact-check him, he would notice both sporting Ranger colours, long before the Rangers ever showed up.

"That's not a no," someone responded to Calvin.

"You're all being ridiculous," Hayley said. They reached Kelly's locker and she helped the green Ranger get her books from the top shelf. As they did, someone made a comment.

"At least we know Kelly isn't a Ranger," they said. "Could you imagine a Ranger in a wheelchair?"

Kelly clenched her teeth. She had known that it wasn't likely too many people would suspect her because of her wheelchair, but she had assumed it would be because the green Ranger, very obviously, could walk. While Kelly still wasn't sure how she would explain the green Ranger needing a wheelchair around the same time she started needing a wheelchair, she never doubted that she could learn to be a good Ranger once again.

Sure, she would fight differently. Training was already very different for her than the others, but she could still be a Ranger. The chair wouldn't stop her.

"I could be a Ranger if I wanted," she said. Calvin put his hand on her shoulder.

"Just ignore them, Kel."

"No. I'm already pretty much back to my regular life in this thing," she said as she gripped her wheels. "If I can do that, you don't think I could figure out how to be a Power Ranger?"

"You can't even kick," someone said. "Hell, the monster would have to be standing right in front of you for you to punch it."

"Yeah, that's how a punch works," Kelly muttered. "Unless you're Inspector Gadget. Do you have extendible arms that allow you to punch a monster from fifty feet away?"

"I…"

"I didn't think so. I could be a Ranger and I bet I could kick…"

"Okay, we're going to go," Calvin said as he grabbed the back of Kelly's chair and started to push her to class. He knew she hated when he or the others tried to control her chair. It was a huge invasion of personal space, but he knew if he didn't, Kelly would say something she would regret or even start a fight.

They met up with Brody and Preston outside the classroom. Just the look on the two boys' faces said it all. They had had a similar morning. With a shake of their heads, they headed inside and hoped the distraction of class would keep the questions and rumours at bay for a little while.

-Ninja-Steel-

"You not answer?" The phone had been ringing, almost none stop, for hours now. Koda couldn't take it, and he had only been hearing it since he arrived for work in the morning. He could understand why Kendall seemed so irritated this morning.

"No," she answered curtly.

"It about new pink Ranger?" Koda asked her.

"Apparently, despite the many, many disclaimers I have posted all around the museum stating we don't have information on the secret identities of the Rangers, and that we refuse to give out personal information for the public Rangers, people still think I know everything."

"You do," Koda reminded her. Kendall rolled her eyes.

"They don't know that." Her phone stopped ringing, if only for a second, then started up again. Finally, at her tipping point, she snapped as she picked it up. "WHAT?"

" _Maybe I should have texted,"_ Chase's voice said on the other end. _"Do you know where my pants are?"_

"They're wherever you dumped them last night," Kendall told him. "I'm your wife, not your mother. Figure it out."

She hung up on him and sighed loudly. Koda took a step back.

"You very stressed."

"That's because stupid me didn't come up with a plan for what to do in case a Ranger identity was revealed," Kendall muttered.

"But you always have plan."

"No, I always figure things out. I don't have a plan," Kendall said just as her phone came to life again. She decided not to answer it. "The museum needs to make a statement about Sarah."

"We say we not know who pink Ranger is," Koda said. "And we say we keep information private, like other Rangers."

"Or maybe," Shelby said as she came around the corner. "We do what you do best, Kendall."

"What I do best?" Kendall frowned.

"Take control," Shelby suggested. "All these people are looking for information. Everyone on the news is basically just asking questions and answering it themselves, whether they know the facts or not. If Sarah's identity is public… what if we have an interview? We can control the information that gets out and maybe satisfy people's curiosity for a bit."

"That… that's not a bad idea, Shelby," Kendall said. Shelby frowned.

"How come every time I have a good idea, you act like it's my first?"

"Some things never change," Koda answered with a shrug and Shelby had to nod at the answer.

Kendall had to wait for her phone to stop ringing before she could make a call. While she had plenty of Ranger contacts thanks to being a Ranger herself and being the owner of the Ranger museum, she didn't have a direct contact to the current team. She had been asked to help them out once, and happily obliged, but otherwise kept her distance, trusting that the new team, just like her own, could handle their own problems.

But she did have a connection. Cammy's grade four teacher, Mrs. Smith, had moved to Summer Cove to work with the new team under the guise of being a teacher aid.

"Serena?" Kendall asked when the white Ranger picked up the phone.

" _Yo."_

"You've seen the news, right?"

" _Who hasn't? I'm handling it. I'm at Ninja Ops right now with Sarah and…"_

"Perfect! I need an interview."

" _Okay, well I was born in Panorama but spent most of my life on my parents' farm…"_ Serena stopped when she heard Kendall's long, frustrated sigh. _"Sarah?"_

"Yes."

" _Am I her agent?"_

"I don't have her phone number," Kendall rolled her eyes. "We had the great idea…"

"I," Shelby corrected. "I had the great idea."

"Shelby had the great idea to interview Sarah. People are asking questions; my phone won't stop ringing. If we host the interview, we can control what gets out and maybe control the whole situation before this blows up."

" _She's up for it. But you'll have to come here. I don't think it's a good idea for her to leave Ninja Ops."_

"On my way," Kendall nodded. As she put her phone away, she looked to Shelby and Koda, "Shelby, you stay here. You're in charge of the museum. Don't answer any phone calls about Sarah or Rangers in general."

"Got it."

Kendall's phone started to ring again. Seeing it was Chase's number, she did answer, "Talk to Shelby," she told him quickly before hanging up. She knew he was getting ready to come in for his shift at work and assumed he was calling to say he would be late for whatever reason. Since Shelby was in charge now, she figured it was time to start delegating.

Shelby's phone rang shortly after and she picked up. "What?"

" _Wow, you're just as cranky as Kendall,"_ he chuckled. _"Do you know where my name tag is?"_

"Seriously?" Shelby asked him.

" _Well, I'd ask Kendall but she told me to ask you. Doesn't make sense to me either, mate, but…"_

"It's wherever you put it," Shelby answered, then shot a look at Kendall.

"Every day," the purple Ranger whispered.

" _I don't remember where I put it."_

"Well, don't ask me. I'm not your wife," Shelby answered, then hung up the phone. She chuckled at Kendall. "Why did you marry him again?"

"I don't know," Kendall sighed.

"Love," Koda answered. Kendall rolled her eyes as she started to leave. Shelby watched before a thought occurred to her.

"Wait! What do I do if he calls again?"

"You're in charge of my museum and my husband! Figure it out!"


	10. Prepping For the Interview

"You must hate Sarah," Hayley heard in the hallway at her locker and glanced over her shoulder to see one of her classmates, Kiera, standing behind her.

"I really don't feel like talking about it," Hayley said as she put her books away and reached into her bag for her lunch.

"You do, don't you?" Kiera asked. She used to be friends with Hayley, before high school. Once they started in the ninth grade, they had different passions and found a new circle of friends to hang out with. They hadn't spoken much at all since.

"Sarah's my friend. A good friend."

"A good friend who didn't do anything to save your mom," Kiera pointed out. "It was that fox monster that killed her, right? Madam Oedipus or something."

"Oedius," Hayley corrected. "And so?"

"You aren't pissed that your best friend, the freaking pink Ranger, didn't do _anything_ to save your mother?"

"It was a surprise attack. The Rangers were busy with another monster when Oedius attacked."

"How do you know it was a surprise attack? Sarah tell you that?" Kiera asked. "Did she tell you after she got caught?"

"Sarah's my friend. She and her mother offered to let me, and my family, stay with her until we got back on our feet."

"Out of guilt?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Hayley said and walked away. She joined the others at their table in the cafeteria. The stares were obvious, but the Rangers were all used to them by now. She sat down with a bit of a huff.

"What happened to you?" Calvin asked.

"Kiera just cornered me at my locker."

"What for?"

"She wanted to know if I was pissed at Sarah for what happened to mom," Hayley muttered.

"What did you say?" Kelly asked.

"I told her Sarah was my friend. It's none of her business how our Ranger duties affect our friendship."

"Her Ranger duties," Preston corrected. With so many eyes on them now, it was riskier than ever to even allude to their Ranger business.

"Whatever," Hayley said.

"I thought there'd be at least a few people who thought it was cool they went to school with a Power Ranger," Kelly said as she looked around the cafeteria. "No one seems impressed. If anything, everyone seems a little… pissed off."

"The whole city is worried about being Oedius' next target," Brody reminded her. "The media did a good job of painting the Rangers as the bad guys lately."

"I just wish we could tell them everything," Preston said.

"You'll get your chance," Levi told them as he brought his lunch over and sat down. He knew it would be a little questionable for an adult volunteer to sit down with students over the lunch hour, but if anyone asked, he could claim he felt sorry for them being in the spotlight over this issue and wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help, even if it was just chasing off nosey kids. "While you were in class, Serena texted. Apparently, the owner of the Ranger museum in Amber Beach is going to interview Sarah."

"Kendall?" Calvin asked and Levi nodded his head.

"Serena said it was a controlled burn. They could ask some of the questions that people are dying to ask, but on our own terms."

"Makes sense," Kelly agreed. "The media got a hold of her identity first and used that to make all the Rangers look bad. If Sarah talks first in a controlled setting, she might be able to get some control back over her image."

"When's the interview?" Preston asked.

"Tonight. We'll have to stay off camera, obviously, but we can be at Ninja Ops when it happens."

"Is she doing it live?" Kelly asked. Levi shook his head.

"Kendall's going to release it at the museum tomorrow."

"So, there will be time for edits," Kelly said and looked a little worried about that. While she was certain that it was for the best that they don't do any interview live, just in case, she was worried what people might think with an edited interview. What would be left out?

"We have to try something," Levi said. "If anyone else catches her off guard, or even just spots her, they can twist the story into whatever they want."

"Local pink Ranger buys bread instead of defeating Oedius," Kelly nodded. "How dare she feed herself while city worries for their lives. I can see the headlines now."

"Let's hope this goes well, then," Preston said.

-Ninja-Steel-

Word of the interview had gotten out. Kendall had arrived at Ninja Ops just as Shelby had released the statement from the museum. It wasn't the first time a Ranger would be interviewed, but it was the first time where it would be an active, outted Ranger. The interview was a big deal and it was sure to get a lot of attention.

Shane was also at Ninja Ops. He knew there wasn't much he could do for his niece, but if she was going to be questioned, even by another Ranger trying to help, he wanted to be there. He wanted to protect her as much as he could.

"And I get that," Kendall told him. "But how's it going to look if you start covering for Sarah?"

"I'm her uncle…"

"You're also just as surprised by this news as everyone else," Kendall reminded him. "I know it's tough and you're just looking out for her, but I'm not going to ask anything incriminating and if there is something we don't want the world to see, we'll edit it out."

"Serena?" Shane said as he turned to the white Ranger. Serena shook her head.

"Don't look at me. I already tried. I'm in the same boat as you. No one knows I already knew. But there is someone who would have already known that the public… kinda likes?"

"My reputation's taking a bit of a hit right now," Gia announced as she made her way into the base. Shane grabbed a chair for her to sit down, certain that with her fractured leg, it was still very difficult to get around. "But at least I'm a familiar face."

"You're here too?" Shane asked her. Gia pointed to Serena.

"She called me here. Asked if I wanted to sit with Sarah during the interview."

"Everyone knows she's a former Ranger," Serena explained. "She saved the planet, almost got herself killed publicly for it, and then after she retired, she joined the Silver Guardians and continued to risk her life for the city. People might not like Gia the Ranger, but they might listen to Gia their Silver Guardian."

"And Sarah's okay with this?" Shane asked, looking to Gia. He knew there was a relationship between the yellow and pink Ranger. Gia had saved Sarah many times already, but personally, he barely knew her.

"She'll have to be," Kendall said. "Otherwise, she's doing it alone. I'm not dragging more Rangers into this than I have to."

"Can I at least see the questions beforehand?" Shane asked, and Kendall handed them over. He read them with a frown.

"This is harsh!"

"These are all the questions that the public's been asking," Kendall reminded him. "If I don't ask them, some reporter with an agenda definitely will."

"We've got to do this," Serena told him.

"Can I at least help you soften them up a bit?" Shane asked.

"You can try," Kendall said. Gia joined them. If she was going to be part of the interview, she wanted to be ready for the questions she might get. While they were busy, Serena made her way into Sarah's room and found the pink Ranger tinkering with the hoverboard. She sat down next to her on the bed.

"Levi said your friends are having a good day, all things considered," she told her. "They're getting a lot of questions and stuff, obviously, but it seems like they've managed to stop people thinking they're also Rangers."

"Good," Sarah muttered.

"This will blow over," Serena promised her. "And hey, Gia's had to deal with her fair share of Ranger haters. One even went so far as to kidnapping Ryan. She'll walk you through it."

"And if this doesn't help?"

"You're not a Ranger for the fame," Sarah said. "You aren't doing this because it'll make you a hero or get you any attention. Otherwise, they wouldn't have outed you. You do this because it's the right thing. You do this because, despite how it looks, you're keeping the city safe."

"How it looks being the key phrase," Sarah said. "They're pissed about Anne, about the attack at the HQ…"

"And now you have a platform to explain yourself," Serena told her. "You're a Ranger, Sarah, but you aren't perfect. Just be honest, though not too honest, and people out there will listen."

Sarah nodded her head, "I wish my mom were here."

"I do too." Serena wrapped her arm around the pink Ranger and hugged her tight. "You'll be fine, though, kid. I promise.


	11. The Interview

Sarah had never felt more powerless in her Ranger suit that she did now. She had chosen to wear it for her interview to confirm the rumours. It would be the first time anyone saw her after her identity was revealed and she didn't want them to be any doubts. As Serena said, she wanted a controlled burn.

She put her helmet in her lap as she sat down. Gia was next to her, in her own Ranger uniform with her helmet off to the side. Sarah would admit, having Gia, another Ranger, by her side made her feel a little better.

Being interviewed by a Ranger helped too.

"You can still back out," Kendall told her while the others watched. RedBot was holding the camera while Mick was next to him. He looked nervous, but he gave Sarah a thumbs up.

Her friends were behind him, also nervous, but Sarah was glad just to have them there. Though it was her face the public knew, they were all in this mess together.

"Better you than anyone else," Sarah answered. Kendall nodded, then gave Mick the signal to start filming. When the cameras were on, she looked to Sarah. She didn't bother wasting time with introductions. She knew Sarah was nervous and scared and that introductions could be done later.

"We'll start with an easy one," Kendall said. "You're Sarah Thompson, right?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded her head.

"Pink Ranger?" Kendall asked and gestured to the uniform. Sarah nodded again.

"Ninja Steel Pink."

"What's the Ninja Steel about?" Kendall asked. These were questions that would help everyone get to know the team in general. Why were they ninjas? How they were recruited, things like that. It would also help ease Sarah into talking about the secrets she had kept hidden for so long.

"Our weapons are made using Ninja Steel," Sarah answered. "It's a metal that arrived to Earth from Space about ten years ago. It's stronger than anything we have here and has… kind of magical properties to it."

"You received your powers from it?"

Sarah held up her Ninja Star, "This was inside what we call the Nexus Prism. It, as well as our red Ranger, arrived on Earth a couple of years ago."

"You knew nothing about the Power Rangers at the time, did you?"

"Our red Ranger wasn't even a Ranger then," Sarah said. "He worked for Galvanax."

"He worked for the monsters?"

"As a slave. He was kidnapped and when he finally escaped, he landed here. He was being attacked when our blue Ranger and I helped him out. That's when the Nexus Prism let us pull out our Stars and we became Rangers."

"What did you think the first time you morphed?" Kendall asked.

"I was excited," Sarah told her. "The Power Rangers have been around my whole life. They've always saved the planet and they're huge heroes. I couldn't believe that I was chosen to be a part of that Legacy."

"It's a lot of power, though."

"It is," Sarah confirmed. "It's scary sometimes, especially when you're face to face with a monster that wants to kill you, but when you have Ranger powers and you're given the opportunity to make a difference, you have to take it."

"Your teammates feel the same way?"

"We all do," Sarah nodded. "I didn't know any of them when we became a team, which is kind of the scariest part. Some big star with little stars inside of it chooses who you'll have to trust with your life? You question it at times, but my teammates have become my best friends. I trust them with my life, and I've had to."

"You've had to trust them?" Kendall asked. "Can you tell us about a time?"

"All the time, really. I trust they're watching my back, I trust they aren't going to betray me. We don't even question stuff like that with each other. We're close."

"Rangers bond for life," Gia added. "We're all one big family. We'll do anything we can to help each other out, but if you were to ask any team, they'd all tell you, there's no bond like the one between you and your teammates."

"So, you're good people?" Kendall asked.

"Yeah. I like to think so."

"Many of our viewers might not," Kendall said. "This Madam Oedius is proving to be a real threat and we're putting our faith in the hands of strangers? That's a lot to ask."

"We know."

"Now we find out you're just a kid."

"I know," Sarah nodded. "I know I'm young. I'm the youngest on my team and I know it's hard to trust people you don't know, never mind a teenager you don't know, but we are out there doing our best."

"Your best?"

"We can't be perfect," Sarah shrugged. "We always make sure we're protecting people first. Our Ranger suits may look like they're just spandex, but they can take a pretty good beating. If it's between you or me, I'd rather take the bullet but…"

"So you're proud of everything you've done so far?"

"I… no," Sarah shook her head and glanced over to Gia. "I wouldn't say I'm proud of everything. I'm still human. I still mess up from time to time. That's why I have a team."

"But you know that if you mess up, we're the ones who pay the price."

"And that's why we try not to mess up at all but… even with Ranger powers, I'm still a human."

"A human who can defend herself. Not many of us can say that," Kendall said. "Anne Foster?"

Sarah's face went white. She knew that question was coming up. She knew she would have to address it – but it still terrified her.

"Rings a bell?" Kendall asked when she noticed Sarah's reaction. Sarah nodded her head. Kendall continued. "She's the mother of a friend you hang out with at school, right?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded.

"What happened there?" Kendall asked. "Because, it looks like the Rangers did nothing to prevent that."

"It's… it's a long story," Sarah said and Gia could see she was starting to close up, so she jumped in.

"It's like Sarah said, she's human. We're human. We can't be perfect all the time. Even as a Silver Guardian, mistakes are costly, and while we do everything we can to avoid them, they're bound to happen."

"But the Rangers never showed up. They didn't help with the aftermath or the cleanup or…"

"Oedius did what she needed to do. She didn't stick around," Gia said. "The Rangers weren't going to be much help after she left."

"So, you don't think they have any blame in what happened to an innocent woman?"

"Of course, we blame ourselves," Sarah answered, jumping back in. "When we heard what happened to Anne Foster, we couldn't believe it. We had just returned from a fight against a monster – a perfect distraction."

"Those aliens have their own agendas," Gia said. "And just like what you see in movies, in many ways, they're far more advanced than us. From my own personal experiences, a lot of aliens see Earth, and humans, as primitive. They are going to outsmart us from time to time, and there's nothing we can do about that."

"So, it was a surprise attack?" Kendall asked but as she shifted her attention back to Sarah, she noticed the pink Ranger was tearing up. She expected some emotion, but Sarah seemed to be taking a hard hit with these questions. "Do you need a minute?" she asked, her voice softening as she switched from Kendall the curious museum owner, to Kendall, the sympathetic Ranger friend.

"It's fine," Sarah answered and looked off screen to Kelly. Her girlfriend smiled back and mouthed to her that, so far, she had done well. "It's… it's just that the Anne Foster murder… it's pretty personal for me."

"Because you're friends with her daughter?"

"Yeah, and…" Sarah looked to her team again. She knew she couldn't give out too many details, but she really needed and wanted their okay for her to tell her own story. When they all nodded, she took a deep breath and looked to Kendall. "My own family got tangled up in that."

"How so?"

"Well… back to mistakes… I made a big one early on. I invented clones of myself that I wanted to use to join some clubs at school. They all met at the same time and so I needed to be in four places at once and… well, I figured out a way to do that."

"Clones?"

"I'm pretty smart," Sarah said. "I made my own hoverboard and while it was a pretty big leap, figuring out the clones thing wasn't that much harder."

"Did you use Ranger technology for that?"

"No!" Sarah answered quickly with a shake of her head. "Absolutely not. We don't let our Ranger business mix in with our personal lives but… while one of my clones was out, there was a monster attack. She malfunctioned, and my teammates had no idea what was going on so they left the holo-sphere behind. The monster at the time picked it up, and that's how Galvanax was able to make eight of himself."

"A lot of people lost their lives in that attack," Kendall said. "With the exception of the Armada Invasion from Gia's time, and a few other final battles, that attack has the highest number of casualties."

"No one knows that more than me," Sarah nodded. "Every time they found another dead body, I felt like I died a little myself too. That monster stole my technology, but I shouldn't have left it. I shouldn't have even made it."

"This just circles back to what I said earlier. Rangers screw up and it's the city who pays the price."

"I know," Sarah nodded. "But we're not invulnerable either. My dad was one of the victims. He never came home; his body was never even found. I lived with that guilt every day."

"Lived? As in, you don't feel guilty about it anymore?"

"I feel guilty about all the other lives lost but… by some miracle, my dad came home one day. I knew I had to be careful. My team… we've been tricked by Oedius before. We questioned what happened but… dad's story… it seemed real."

"Seemed?"

"The night Anne Foster died was the night I found out that my father had been working for Madam Oedius. She saved him in the attack, nursed him back to health and kept him prisoner until he agreed to do what she wanted. She thought, having someone I loved as her soldier would weaken us… and it did. She was right."

"So, your father was in on this?"

"He knew. My mother too," Sarah nodded. "Dad… he was just trying to protect us. Oedius threatened him, saying if he betrayed her, she'd kill us. Dad didn't want to see that happen. I hated him for that."

"You hated him for trying to protect you?"

"I hated him for believing Oedius, for turning his back on me and my mother," Sarah answered. "I… I don't think anyone understands how I felt the night I found out my father was responsible for what happened to Anne Foster."

"What was his role?"

"He decided who Oedius would kill."

"And he chose someone random?"

"Her daughter and I are friends," Sarah said. "Oedius wanted it to hurt and… Anne was the only person dad knew who could do that. He made that choice and…"

Sarah paused, choked up as she had to relieve the betrayal once again. It had been tough enough the first time but having to prove that she was just as furious about it as the public, when the truth was no one, not even Kelly or Hayley, was angrier than her, hurt.

"My father did a lot of damage, and that was hard… it was hard because he was my dad," Sarah said. She wiped away the tears coming down her cheeks, but to no avail. She was crying at this point, but she knew she had to push through. Kendall once again asked if she needed a minute to compose herself, and even Gia said it would be okay to stop, but Sarah shook her head.

"Oedius only targeted Anne because she had a connection to the Rangers. It wasn't a random attack, it was planned."

"So, it won't happen again?"

"I can't promise that," Sarah answered honestly. "I can't promise she won't do something unexpected but… Oedius is calculating and at this point, she's at war with us, not the city or the planet. She's targeting Rangers."

"How do you know?"

"Because she attacked me," Sarah said. "My father, after seeing the damage he had done… he wanted to make things right. He decided to leave Oedius, but she stayed true to her promise. When she found out dad was going to betray her, she attacked all three of us."

"Three?"

"Him, me and my mother," Sarah nodded. "That freak accident that killed my mom… that was planned by Oedius, and it was supposed to kill me too. That's why Oedius attacked at the Silver Guardian HQ. She wanted me dead. She's not targeting random people, she's going after Rangers. We were caught off guard with Anne, but otherwise, I promise you, when there's a monster involved, the Rangers are somewhere. Whether we're in plain sight fighting them off or hiding with you guys, we're out there fighting for you."

"Gia," Kendall said and shifted her attention to the yellow Ranger. "You were the officer in charge of that accident that killed Sarah's mother."

"I was."

"You covered it up?"

"We omitted unnecessary details from the public," Gia answered with a confident nod. "At this point, as both a Ranger and a Guardian, I was sure there was no threat to the city. The Rangers and I knew Oedius was targeting them and we felt it wasn't necessary to release information that would only cause panic. In a crisis, panic is what gets people killed."

"You were on top of it, though?" Kendall asked.

"No one, other than the Rangers, was in any danger."

"What if the attack on your HQ happened when there were people around?"

"I promise you, evacuating them would have been priority," Gia said, then looked to Sarah. "In fact, keeping her safe was still a priority."

Sarah frowned. She hadn't known that. She knew Gia had fought by her side, but Gia never revealed that she had fought to protect.

"The Ninja Steel Rangers might be new, and Sarah herself might just be a kid, but they've been the ones fighting Oedius and those other monsters. They know her best. If anyone was going to make it out of that battle alive, it had to be Sarah. Her team, and this city, is stronger with her. We need these Rangers."

"Why?" Sarah asked, completely confused. "You…"

"Hey, relax, kid," Gia smiled. "I didn't plan on going anywhere either. But I can promise you, you were always safe…"

"You shouldn't have done that," Sarah shook her head and now it was everyone else's turn to be confused. Gia frowned.

"Sarah, I'm speaking as a Ranger, not a Guardian and not as just a regular person. You and your team are going to be the ones to stop Oedius and…"

"No," Sarah sat and hopped out of her chair to storm off to her room. Gia and Kendall looked to each other and the others did the same.

"Should I stop?" RedBot asked. Mick shook his head.

"Keep filming. We can always edit it out," he said. Gia and Kendall, the only two who could be on camera, went to Sarah's door to knock while RedBot followed with the camera.

"Sarah? Did I say something?" Gia asked, but Sarah didn't answer. "Sarah?"

"You shouldn't have done that!" Sarah shouted as she opened the door to her bedroom. She was angry, and it seemed it was all directed at Gia. Kendall took a step back, confusion etched on her face and she felt it wasn't her place to get involved. Gia was more than capable of looking after herself.

"That's my choice to make, Sarah."

"Oedius wanted me dead!" Sarah shouted. "She was coming after me! I went to HQ! You were the victim…"

"No," Gia shook her head. "I knew who you were, Sarah. You came to me looking for help. I could have turned you away. I could have gone home to my family. I made that the choice to stay, and I'm glad I did. If Oedius got you alone…"

"It should have been me!" Sarah screamed. Gia shook her head again.

"Sarah…"

"It should have been me…" Sarah said, softer this time before she burst into tears, unable to stop herself. Gia dropped her crutches to take the pink Rangers in her arms.

"Sarah… what are you talking about?"


	12. Hard Lessons

" _Right. Her plan…"_

" _Why don't I tell you myself?" Madam Oedius said, announcing her arrival as she stepped out of the shadows of the workshop with a smirk. Sarah quickly grabbed her mother, pulling her behind for safety, while her father took a step back from Oedius. The fox just smirked. "Look at that, I don't even need to hunt the three of you down individually. You're all here!"_

" _Leave them out of this," Bill said while Sarah took her Power Star out of her pocket. "I betrayed you, not them."_

" _And you'll face the consequences, as promised," Oedius nodded as her gaze shifted to Sarah. She saw the pink Ranger about to morph and swiftly rushed her, knocking the charger from her hand, then kicking Sarah to the ground. "I don't have time to play around, child."_

" _Mom, dad, go! I've got this!" Sarah called to them as she jumped back up to her feet to fight Oedius. She knew she couldn't take on the monster herself, but her friends weren't far. Her parents could run to safety, they could get help. Sarah only had to survive until then._

 _But Oedius had a different plan and her parents were reluctant to leave her, especially once they watched Sarah fly and crash into the workbench, smashing it in half and landing with a sickening thus on the ground. Sarah let out a cry of pain and then couldn't move as Oedius approached her._

" _Nothing is sweeter than killing a child right in front of her parents," Oedius said as she drew a sword. Sarah was still in pain and still couldn't move. Her head was spinning, her vision blurred. She could barely see the danger she was in, never mind process it._

 _Just before Oedius could strike, Bill grabbed her arm. Oedius was stronger than him, so he couldn't stop the blow, but he pulled enough to cause her to miss. Oedius shrugged his off and sent him to the ground._

" _Fine, then. I'll kill you in front of your daughter," she said, but before she could strike, Jenny threw a hammer at her head. Oedius gasped as she turned around, her eyes focused on Jenny._

" _Big mistake…"_

 _Sarah was just starting to get her bearings back. Not enough to even think she could do anything to stop Oedius, but it was at least enough to get her attention. She got to her feet and while she was a little wobbly, she ran to her mother and stood before her protectively. Oedius stopped and rolled her eyes. "This is just sick and as I said, I have no time."_

 _She dropped something. Sarah couldn't see what. Anything passed her nose was a blur. Her mother saw it and all Sarah felt after that was her mother pushing her to the ground, just before a bomb went off. Sarah could feel the blast right above her. She heard her mother scream out in pain, then felt the building collapse on top of her._

 _Then nothing. She was sure she was dead, until she woke up in a hospital, in pain, barely able to breathe on her own._

 _And despite that. Despite her pain, nothing hurt more than when she found out her parents were dead._

"If mom hadn't pushed me… if she hadn't seen the bomb… I'd be dead," Sarah said. "But… the worst part is that if she had just dropped to the ground, let herself fall, instead of pushing me… she'd be alive. She knew she was going to die. She knew I was a Ranger, and I had powers and…"

"It hurts?" Gia asked.

"Getting blown up hurts. Spending weeks in the hospital, with tubes and wires and people poking and prodding and asking you how you're doing when all you want to do is cry; that hurts. Knowing my mother saved me instead of herself… I can't describe that. Oedius used my father as a soldier because of me. My father died, because of me. My mother died to save me. I have all these powers and… I've never felt so powerless."

"You're human," Gia told her, but Sarah shook her head.

"I'm a Power Ranger," she said. "And… and no matter what it takes, no matter what I'll have to sacrifice, I'm not going to let Oedius make anyone feel the way I felt. If I get my way, and I promise you, I will, Oedius isn't going to hurt anyone else."

The interview ended there as the museum fell silent. No one knew what to say after the screen went blank. The Rangers all turned to Sarah. They hadn't been there to witness the end of the interview. Sarah had gotten too emotional and though she knew she was about to share her feelings with the world, in the moment, she needed the privacy. She only allowed Gia and Kendall in the room for the last part and hadn't spoken to her friends at all after.

Losing her parents would have hurt, no matter how it ended, but Sarah knew the role she played in their death. Oedius never would have targeted her mother if her father hadn't betrayed her. Her father wouldn't have betrayed Oedius if he never worked for her. He never would have worked for Oedius if she hadn't saved him from the Galvanax clones. Galvanax never would have clones himself if Sarah hadn't come up with the technology.

It fell on her shoulders. She wasn't looking for sympathy. She didn't tell her story to have people feel sorry for her and change their minds. She told her story because she wanted the whole city to know just how hard she was fighting to keep them safe. She wanted to be as transparent as she could possibly be. If the city knew her motivations, her powers wouldn't feel so threatening.

For some, it worked. Seeing the pink Ranger so vulnerable seemed to remind some that she and the other Rangers were still human. They were people, and while they did make mistakes, they were ultimately there to protect the city. From where she watched behind the scenes, Sarah could see a few faces soften.

Others weren't so sympathetic. As Kendall walked up to the mic to wrap up the interview, some people turned away in disgust, others called the interview scripted, and a few people even shouted out how that story made them distrust the Power Rangers more.

Kendall firmly stated that there would be no more questions and that everyone could leave. Though not many people listened, she walked off the stage. Anyone who tried to follow, insisting they had a right to more answers, was stopped by Koda.

"Move," one man stated.

"Kendall say leave."

"I. Don't. Care," the man said, speaking slowly as if Koda couldn't understand him. Koda growled. The man growled back.

"Hey, hey!" Chase said as he arrived, cutting between the man and Koda. While he knew his friend would never hurt anyone, the man didn't know that. Chase was more than happy to play along with Koda's apparent aggression and size to help keep a riot from starting. "The big guy said it's time to go."

"But that Ranger's responsible for the biggest tragedy Summer Cove has ever seen!" the man said. "And we have to let it go because she lost her dad or whatever?"

"No one said you had to let it go," Chase told him. "But if you're going to be mad, go do it outside. The museum is closed."

"She's here, isn't she?" the man asked. "That pink Ranger. You're hiding her somewhere, aren't you?"

"I can't say whether we are or not. Amber Beach Ranger Museum takes it's confidentiality seriously," Chase said. "But even if she was hiding back there somewhere, do you think I'd want to know that I let a grown man go after a seventeen-year-old girl?"

"A Power Ranger," the man reminded him.

"So, you're either a tough guy, or you're stupid," Shelby said as she made her way over. "Though, I don't know what's so tough about a grown man taking on a kid."

"She's not a kid, she's a Ranger! She's dangerous."

"So… definitely stupid, then," Shelby frowned. "Because, well, this pink Ranger, as you claim, is dangerous and powerful and… you and this little mob are going to take her down?"

The man looked over his shoulder, and while he felt like he had half the city on his side, the reality was that most people had watched the interview from home. The viewing in the museum was for a limited audience. Some of the people who followed him had walked out when Koda asked them to leave. Others left after Chase showed up, and more were turning away when Shelby arrived. The man was now standing with about five other people.

"She's not getting away with this," he growled then stormed off, with the remaining followers close behind. Shelby waved goodbye as she locked the doors behind them, then turned to the Rangers, the only guests who stayed behind.

"Well… at least more people are… not mad," she said. "That went well."

"Except the people who are still mad aren't just angry," Calvin sighed. "They're furious!"

"If Sarah even shows her face in public, we could be looking at a civil war," Brody said. "How is this any better?"

"People know the pink Ranger's story now," Shelby said with a shrug. She knew her idea for an interview might not work flawlessly, but she was still confident this was better than just letting people wonder. "I mean, now we know who she is, we know how she became a Ranger and why she's fighting Oedius. People who came here wanting to see her stripped of her powers are now on her side."

"If they don't want her crucified," Preston stated. "Or us! It's bad enough Oedius wants us dead."

"I doubt anyone really wants Sarah dead," Shelby said, but the Rangers didn't seem to agree. "Okay… maybe a few sickos out there do but… you're Power Rangers. You don't do this so people will like you. You do the job because it's the right thing to do. You're out there fighting for people whether they agree with you or not."

"One day," Chase added. "They'll see that they need you to stop Oedius. Hopefully that day just comes sooner, rather than later."

"Before we lose a pink Ranger or they figure out who the rest of us are," Kelly muttered. "How's Sarah doing?"

"She's in Kendall's office if you want to check in on her," Chase said and pointed down the hall. Then he looked to Koda. "What do you think, big guy? Should we let them talk for a minute while we fix up some lunch?"

"Good idea," Koda nodded and smiled at the Rangers. "We make burgers so good, it cheer you all up. Promise!"

As they headed off to the restaurant to fix up a meal for everything, Calvin put his arm on the blue Ninja's shoulder and shook his head with a smirk.

"I still think you two are somehow related."

"Us?" Preston asked and pointed to where Koda had been standing.

"You're probably his great-great-great grandson or something."

"I don't see it," Levi insisted with a shake of his head.

"It's too uncanny," Brody told his brother. "How can you not?"

"I just don't."

-Ninja-Steel-

After the interview ended, Sarah made her way back to Kendall's office. Since they weren't trying to stir up trouble for the museum, or themselves, Kendall allowed Sarah to stay behind the scenes at the museum to watch. Her friends knew where she was, but no one else thought to look around for her. They were so focused on the interview and seeing if their questions, worries and doubts would be answered.

Sarah wasn't alone in Kendall's office, though. Cammy was sitting there with her. Kendall knew there was a chance the viewing didn't go well and so didn't allow Cammy to be in the room to watch it with the others. She had to stay off site and so stayed with Sarah.

"I think the Rangers are pretty cool," Cammy told Sarah when she saw the pink Ranger still looked a little sad. "Did you know, for a little while, I was the purple Ranger?"

"Cool," Sarah muttered, but she wasn't really listening. She knew she had convinced half the city she was looking out for their best interest, but it was the others, the people who still blamed her, who she worried about.

"Kendall says I'm the youngest Ranger ever!" Cammy told Sarah, though she knew the pink Ranger wasn't listening. She hoped if she kept talking, Sarah would start. "The next youngest Ranger was ten when he fought. He held the record for the longest time."

"Nice," Sarah said, still without paying attention to Cammy. The little girl hopped off her chair and walked over.

"Are you scared because of what people think?" Cammy asked. Sarah finally turned and seemed to be listening, as she nodded her head in response.

"I guess."

"Why?" Cammy asked.

"I think… I guess it's because they're right. As cruel and dangerous as Oedius is… if I never created those holo-clones…"

"Oedius would have found another way to cause trouble," Cammy stated. "We had a bad guy, Heckyl. He tried, and tried, and tried a lot to destroy us and sometimes, it felt like no matter what we did, things always went wrong."

"My mistake killed people, Cammy," Sarah told her. "Dad worked for Oedius because of me. Mom basically blew herself up to save me. If I had just… If I…"

"Wasn't a Ranger?" Cammy finished for Sarah, who nodded. Cammy sat down next to Sarah. "Okay, so you said, in that interview, that you became a Ranger when you met your red guy and he was in trouble, right?"

"Preston and I saw something falling form the sky and I wanted to check it out," Sarah nodded. "Preston… he was scared but I think he tagged along because he didn't want me to get into trouble alone. He's a good guy."

"That thing falling from the sky was a monster?"

"It was Brody," Sarah said. "He had taken the Nexus Prism and escaped Galvanax's ship. But Ripcon followed him down and was attacking him when Preston and I showed up."

"Was Brody winning?"

"He needed help," Sarah shook her head. "I told Preston to hold on because I thought if we ran into the monster, we could distract it long enough for Brody to get away. While Ripcon was getting back up after we hit him, the Prism chose us."

"And you wished that never happened?" Cammy frowned. "So… would Preston have gone to the thing that fell if you hadn't?"

Sarah shook her head again. Cammy smirked.

"So, if you hadn't become a Ranger, Preston wouldn't have either," Cammy said. "And Brody probably would have been dead?"

"I… I never thought of it that way," Sarah said.

"So… if you never became a Ranger, Preston or Brody wouldn't have either. So, all the people they saved, and you, wouldn't have been saved either?"

"But what about the clones?" Sarah asked. "If that never happened…"

"Galvanax probably would have found another way to kill everyone. Or at least try. And maybe it would have been worse."

"How could it be worse?"

"I don't know," Cammy shrugged just before she glanced up at the door. "Your friends are here. I'm going to go see if I can get Koda to make me a sundae. Do you want one?"

"I'm not hungry," Sarah said. Cammy hopped off the couch and raced off to find her friends while the Ninja Rangers walked in. Kelly made her way over to Sarah.

"We saw the end of the interview," she told her. "You never said anything about Jenny pushing you down."

"I didn't think I needed to mention it," Sarah shrugged.

"If it's any comfort," Preston said as he sat beside her, taking over Cammy's seat. "I'm sure she knew what she was doing."

"Doesn't make me feel better," Sarah muttered. "You guys watched the interview. You guys were there. You know how everything with Oedius and my dad unfolded. If anyone should have died…"

"No one should have died," Calvin frowned. "And it's certainly not your fault."

"Try telling that to anyone else," Sarah said. "I got dad killed. Mom died protecting me, and I'm the Ranger. Gia nearly killed herself protecting me. Anne's dead because of my dad and… don't even get me started on your parents," she said to Kelly.

"My parents?" she frowned. "Sarah, my parents are dead because they're bigots. Dad let his hate for us consume him to the point of working with a monster, and mom let herself become a monster. In case you forgot, she's a big part of the reason you have a brain injury."

"I think that's kind of idea of brain injury," Calvin stating. "The lack of memory… OW!" he cried out when Hayley nudged him roughly in the ribs. "I'm just making a joke."

"It's not funny," she warned him.

"This city is right to think I'm dangerous," Sarah told her friends then stood up. "I think I'm just going to go…"

"Go where?" Gia asked as she stood by the door, arms crossed. "My dad's dead because of a clone, you don't see me quitting because of it."

"You didn't create the clone," Sarah muttered.

"Right, so the only Ranger I know with the power to create technology like clones and time machines is just going to walk away?" Gia asked. "Give up her Power Star?"

"It's better for everyone."

"For who?" Gia frowned, then pointed to her leg. "Kid, I have a daughter at home who needs her mother. I have a nephew who still wakes up in the middle of the night, crying for his father who'll never come home. I've promised them both that I would never put myself in a position to abandon them."

"And you did!"

"And you have the nerve to think I would break that promise for nothing?" Gia asked, looking very offended. "Do you understand the love I have for my daughter? Can you even begin to comprehend the lengths I would go to, just to make her happy? Never mind what I would do to keep her safe?"

"I…"

"And I risked that for you," Gia added. "And now you're standing here, and you have the guts to say that you're going to give up? You're going to make me go home tonight, and tell my daughter and my nephew that I broke my leg and nearly died for a Ranger that was just going to give up?"

"No, but…"

"And your poor mother," Gia continued. "I mean… this woman, this perfect stranger chose to have you be a part of her life. This woman, who had no obligation to you, opened her heart, raised you, comforted you, and gave her life for you and you're just going to throw that away."

"Don't talk about my mother."

"Am I being disrespectful?" Gia asked. "Am I dishonouring her memory by reminding you of the sacrifice she made for you? For this planet?"

"Stop it," Sarah growled, her anger really starting to grow now. She clenched her fists as her eyes watered.

"Your mother believed in you so much, that in the face of death, she kept herself together long enough to push you down. She sacrificed herself, so you could live, and you want to throw that away?"

"Stop it!"

"Your friends!" Gia pointed to the other Rangers. "Your teammates! They've stood by you through thick and thin, time and time again as you screw up! You're responsible for clones, they forgive you. You risk your life with a time machine, they're there when you get back. You bash your head so many times, you end up with permanent brain damage, and they don't even question leaving you behind. Now, to thank them, you just quit?"

"Stop it!" Sarah screamed in Gia's face, but the yellow Ranger didn't stand down.

"No one said this was going to be easy," Gia told her. "No one promised that if you slipped the spandex on, you would be a beloved hero. No one promised that everything would be okay. The only thing your Ranger suit ever promised you was that you were going to take a beating. This is a job where you get hurt, where you fall and where you make some of the biggest mistakes of your life. This is a job where people die, and people are going to hate you for it, but you do it anyway. I hurt, Sarah. Gosei couldn't have picked a worse time for me to be a Ranger and it didn't get better once I had my powers. If anything, it got worse. But I stuck it out until the end. No matter how much my city hated me, or my friends hated me, or no matter how much I hated myself. I stuck it out, and dammit, so will you."

Gia looked to all the Ninja Rangers, "You've won back some fans, but you also have people who hate you now more than ever. But you're going to stick it out to the end. You'll do what's right. Do you understand?"

"Yes," they all nodded. Gia then looked to Sarah.

"Do you understand?" she asked. Sarah didn't answer and instead turned to head away. Gia hit her leg with her crutch. "HEY! Do you understand?"

"Yes," Sarah whispered, and as if she uttered the magic words, Gia's face changed from stern and fierce to soft and gentle. She set her crutches aside and took the pink Ranger in her arms.

"You'll be okay, kid," she promised.


	13. A Rough School Day

Gia hated yelling at good people when they were upset. Hell, despite her demeanor, she hated yelling, period. However, she had seen in Sarah something she had once seen in herself and she didn't want to let that grow. She knew she had needed some tough love while she had been a Ranger. She needed someone to set her straight and so she did exactly that with Sarah.

If the Ninja Rangers were going to stop Oedius, they would have to do it together. Gia would never claim to understand why anyone was ever chosen to be a Ranger, but she knew, so far, everyone was deserving.

She also knew when someone needed more than what they had.

"You want to… what?" Shane asked, and felt like everyone else had the same question on their minds. He could see the confused look on Jake's face, and the silence over the phone from Wes and Eric signalled that they were just as surprised too.

"I'm coming back to work," Gia announced. "Once my leg heals, of course."

" _Yeah, that part, I get,"_ Wes said.

" _But you want to transfer?"_ Eric added.

Gia nodded her head. "Angel Grove is doing well. We have so many officers who are well trained and Rebecca's done a great job at managing while I've been off. Troy's got things handled in Harwood and we know that the Samurai and the Dino Rangers are looking over their own cities from the shadows, so Panorama and Amber Beach will be fine if I… step away."

"But Summer Cove?" Jake asked.

"It's not that far from Angel Grove, I can still be home every night," Gia promised him. "Ciara won't know the difference since she's already in school during the day anyway."

"But why transfer?" Jake asked. "Summer Cove has Rangers too and they're doing a good job, all things considered."

"I want to help more."

" _More?"_ Eric asked. _"Gia, maybe you don't know this because you aren't paying for it with literal money, but we're already doing so much for Summer Cove in terms of helping."_

"I know, but Rebecca was right, the city needs to know we've got things under control and as much as they don't like the Rangers right now, my reputation as a Guardian is still good. If I'm in Summer Cove, I can hopefully help keep the peace."

"So why am I here?" Shane asked. "You don't work for me and you aren't my wife. I don't care what you do."

"I'll get to you in a minute," Gia said to Shane's surprise, then turned to Jake. "You know…"

"Don't give me that look," Jake shook his head.

"What look?"

"That look. The sad eyes, the pouting lip but the glow from your heart that says you're really, really trying to do something good," Jake said to his wife. "You know that look."

"I love Ciara," Gia said. "And you know I love Joe. And you know how happy I am they get to grow up together, right?"

" _You know your bosses are listening to this mushy stuff, right?"_ Eric interrupted.

"I want another kid," Gia told Jake, who looked to her like she had grown a second head. Then he started to laugh as he looked to Shane.

"She nearly died giving birth to our daughter, is told she pretty much will die if she even just gets pregnant, and then despite us agreeing that one kid and a nephew is good enough, she decides to drop this bomb on me."

"I know it's risky," Gia said. "That's why I'll never carry a child again but there are plenty of kids out there who need… someone."

"Are we here to be witnesses?" Shane asked. "Because I know this Ranger thing is one big happy family and all but… I barely know any of you."

"Sarah needs someone," Gia shifted her attention to Shane.

"She's got me."

"I know," she nodded. "And I know you're doing your best and you want what's best for her."

"Exactly," Shane said. "I know I'm new to this dad thing but…"

"That's just the thing," Gia said. "You're not her dad. You never will be. I don't want to be her mom but… I've been talking to Sarah and talking to Serena and… she misses her mom."

"I miss her too. Do you want to be my sister?"

"Please don't take this the wrong way…"

"You're saying I'm a bad uncle!"

"I'm not saying that at all!" Gia shook her head. "Look, when Jordan died, Joe was left without a dad. None of us would replace him but Jake's done a wonderful job stepping up."

"So that works for you guys but…"

"When Sarah's dad died, I know you stepped in," Gia said. "You helped her mother, you protected Sarah, helped her with the Ranger stuff, helped to try and keep her out of trouble and keep her chin up. I'll bet Jenny was doing a wonderful job as a mother, but you still stepped up for Sarah, right?"

"Because I'm actually her uncle."

"She needed a dad and you stepped up, and Sarah's better off for it. She's still got a man in her life who'll look after her, guide her and protect her, just like how Jake is all those things to Joe now," Gia stated. "And, god-forbid anything happens to me… I'd want someone to step up as a mother for Ciara. Someone she can look up to."

"That's Emma," Jake said. "We've got this whole deal thing planned out, it's kind of weird but it works."

"Sarah misses her mom. I can't replace her, and you can't either," Gia said to Shane. "But… she can have a woman in her life to look up to."

"And you think she'll look up to you?" Shane asked.

"I'm ready to open my heart, my home and my family up to someone else," Gia nodded and glanced to Jake to make sure he knew she was talking to him too."

"Kelly and Hayley also lost a mother."

"They have each other," Gia said. "Though, I am ready to help them too. All the Ninjas. That's why I want to make the transfer. And if Wes, Eric and Jake are okay with it…"

" _It does make sense to have our best Guardian in our biggest at-risk city,"_ Wes conceded, and Jake nodded to agree. Though it would mean a longer commute for Gia, she was already spending more time in Summer Cove. She might as well have an HQ to retreat to.

Gia smiled at Jake, then looked back at Shane. "Look, what I'm really trying to say is… I want to be a part of Sarah's life. I want to help out and I want you to know that if she needs someone, she can turn to me. Is that okay?"

"I… I mean…"

"You're still her uncle," Gia said. "Of course, I'll encourage her to keep you up to date on everything. To share everything, she can with you. But… if she needs it, she can have me too. I'm not looking to step on any toes here but… if I can help her just a little bit, that's all I want."

"Gia hates seeing good people hurt," Jake said. "I mean, we're at the store weekly buying teddy bears and candy and blankets for kids and I don't even know them!"

" _Is that what all those charges at the toy store are?"_ Eric asked.

"You said you would cover work expenses," Gia told him. "Comforting young victims falls under work expense."

" _Give them a hug!"_

"And risk a lawsuit?" Gia smirked, knowing she was getting under Eric's skin.

" _You are the law…. You're comforting a child!"_

"Not everyone sees it that way."

" _We're cutting you off."_

" _Eric…"_

" _That money is for guns and vests and uniforms. Our funds aren't unlimited, you know."_

" _She's never gone over budget."_

" _Oh, and who is covering for her health care?"_

" _She got injured on the job!"_

" _Six hours after she was supposed to leave the job."_

"They can go on," Gia said to Jake and Shane. "I'll end this. Hey, Eric?"

" _What?"_

"Maybe I can ask Taylor what she thinks about the teddy bears, the candy and the hospital charges? I wonder what and Air Force…"

" _Alright, alright,"_ Eric said. _"Just… keep up the good work, okay?"_

"And I think Taylor would want me to…"

" _You can move to Summer Cove if you really think that's for the best,"_ Eric said. _"We'll get to work on a new HQ."_

"And also…"

" _No raise."_ Eric hung up the phone. Gia smirked.

"I love that he married a yellow." she looked back at Shane. "So? Can I help Sarah?"

"You'll keep me in the loop?"

"Promise."

"I guess it would help," Shane nodded. "I'd like to think I'm progressive but… I guess there are some girl stuff that I just… would rather not talk about."

"And you're sure you're okay with it?" Gia asked her husband. "She'll probably be spending time with us, with Ciara…"

"We'll figure it out," Jake nodded. "Besides, if you're transferring to Summer Cove, might be nice for Ciara to have someone to hang out with if you work late and I'm on the road. You know, once this city isn't a warzone anymore."

-Ninja-Steel-

After the interview had aired, school was the same for the Rangers. While their identities were still secret, it was well known around the school that they hung out with Sarah, so naturally, anyone looking for information on the Rangers, either to praise them or chew them out, would look to the others.

The interview had done what it needed to do. It answered a lot of questions that people in the city were asking about who the Rangers were, what their intentions were, and how they got access to their powers in the first place. Many people continued to look to the Rangers as the heroes the city needed against a threat like Oedius, and anyone else who decided to challenge the Earth. However, others weren't so pleased.

The glares and stares reminded Kelly of her old high school – the one she was happy to escape. There were whispers in the hallway as she walked by and it was hard to tell if people were talking behind her back, saying negative things, or if they were just too nervous to approach and ask about Sarah. Kelly wasn't sure who she could trust in the school, if there was anyone she could trust. Fortunately, unlike her old school, she at least had some friends here she could turn to. As she grabbed her things from her locker, she saw Preston making his way over.

"I don't know what's worse," he said. "Trying to convince people I'm not a Ranger, trying to convince people I could be a Ranger, so they don't think I protest too much, or having people tell me I should rot in a hole just for being friends with Sarah."

"Definitely all three," Kelly said.

"How are you holding up?" Preston asked. He figured as bad as the rumours were for him, they had to be worse for Kelly. The whole school knew she was dating Sarah, and despite everything that was going on, Kelly remained loyal to her girlfriend both in real life, and in this game, they were playing with the school. The green Ranger knew that regardless of what happened, she wanted to stand by Sarah's side.

"Could be worse," Kelly answered. "We could be trapped in Ninja Ops indefinitely, not sure when it'll be safe to go into the city again for fear of being persecuted."

"Yeah… that part kind of sucks," Preston agreed. "At least Mrs. Finch is on our side. She's made up work for Sarah, so she doesn't fall behind if this all blows over before graduation. Truth be told, though, Sarah will probably still graduate without all this work."

Preston opened his bag to show Kelly the pink binder that he had collected for Sarah. Though the pink Ranger was trapped in Ninja Ops, worried how the city might react if they saw her, Sarah was still eager to complete high school. While she already had the marks to carry her to graduation, she didn't want to fall behind at all.

"Mrs. Finch is helping Sarah?"

"Apparently, the pink Ranger saved her once," Preston said. "One of the earlier attacks. Before we met."

"Small world, I guess," Kelly nodded just as the bell rang for first period. Preston looked to her.

"You wanna walk together?"

"That's fine," Kelly shook her head. "The non-Ranger fans kind of block my path. You'll be late if you wait for me. Just save me a seat and tell Mrs. Finch I'm on my way."

"Can do," Preston said. He offered to take Kelly's books for her, just to make her journey to class a little easier and hurried on ahead. Kelly closed her locker and stared down the hallway. For the most part, the other students would ensure she had enough room to move, but there were a few who had gone out of their way to make life difficult for the Rangers since discovering they were friends with Sarah. They would intentionally get in Kelly's path on the way to class, forcing her to be late and miss out on the beginning of the lesson. They didn't seem to care that doing so would cause them to be late as well.

She pushed her chair, moving herself forward, thanking people as they stepped out of the way. She reached the elevator and pushed the button. As the doors opened for her, she started to make her way in, but something held her back.

"Hey," she called and turned around to see one of the jocks had grabbed the back of her chair. Two of his friends were behind him. She sighed. "Really, we're doing this again?"

"Break up with that pink poser yet?" the first one – Harley – asked her.

"You know she's actually the pink Ranger, right?" Kelly told him. "She can't be a poser if she's the real deal."

"You think you're smart?"

"Just stating facts," Kelly shrugged. "My friends are waiting for me in class. They know I'm coming, and Mrs. Finch knows why I've been late to class…"

"Your friends, you mean Sarah's back at school?"

"No," Kelly shook her head.

"She's a coward," one of Harley's friends – Dirk – said with a chuckle. "Too afraid to face the city after what she's done."

"Given the way you're treating me, I think she's got a reason to want to avoid this place," Kelly said.

"You had to have known," the last guy – Bradley – said to Kelly. "I mean, come on. The bitch you're screwing runs off half the time to trash the city and you're completely blind."

"Her eyes are as useless as he legs," Dirk laughed.

"Really? A paralyzed joke?" Kelly rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't be cracking jokes if I were you. The whole city hates you too because you're backing up that bitch…"

"Sarah's not a bitch," Kelly stated.

"She's got powers and fights monsters, but is too afraid to come to school?" Harley asked. "Sounds like a bitch to me."

"If this is how you're treating me…"

"Babe, I haven't done anything yet," Harley told her. "But if your little girlfriend doesn't show up to school tomorrow, you might be the one getting into a little bit of trouble."

"Is that a threat?" Kelly asked.

"I might be," Harley nodded. "Tell your girlfriend to meet me tomorrow, in the locker room for a chat."

"And if I don't?"

"You will," Harley said, and Kelly felt the back of her chair lift. She tried to grab on to keep herself in her seat, but a push to the back and the chair tilting forward even further forced her out. She heard Harley, Dirk and Bradley laughing as they ran off. Harley hopped into her chair as Bradley pushed him down the hallway.

"Hey! Stop it!" Kelly shouted, but she couldn't do anything. She was sure that even if they could still hear her, they wouldn't listen, and she couldn't chase after them to stop them.

"Fuck," she muttered to herself as she lay on the ground. There weren't any classes in this wing of the school as it was mostly taken up by lockers. Most of the students were in class with their teachers and those who weren't wouldn't be likely to wander down this way. If they didn't have class yet, they were most likely taking advantage of the extra hour to sleep in. Still, there had to be someone nearby.

"Help!" Kelly called out and as soon as she did, she realized how pathetic she felt. She was the green Ranger, and though her injury had kept her out of a few of the more recent battles, she felt she was ready to wear the spandex again. She had practiced fighting enough in her chair that she could defend herself in close combat, and Sarah had given it enough upgrades in the last few weeks that she could help her teammates. Oedius hadn't attacked since she felt ready to return to the battle field, but she had been sure that she could take care of herself.

This served as a strong reminder that she couldn't. This wasn't Oedius' goons who attacked her. These were three kids, and in a single move, they managed to make her completely vulnerable. If they could figure out that all they had to do was knock her out of her chair for her to no longer be a problem for them, surely it wouldn't take Oedius long to figure that out either. After calling for help one more time, she smashed her fist into the ground.

Fortunately for her, Levi had been roaming the halls, looking for a little work to do. The previous year, the music teacher at the school needed to go on leave, opening a spot for Levi to join the staff. Principal Hastings had hired him on the spot, if since he was a musician, he would easily be able to handle teaching the subject. When the year ended, though, Levi lost his job. The music teacher returned from leave, taking Levi's position, leaving the gold Ranger without work.

However, he had started a few music clubs that his students loved and wanted to see continued into the new school year. Levi offered himself as a volunteer to Hastings, and when he told her he would do it all for free, she found she couldn't say no. His programs were great for the students, and the school could always use an extra hand. There were some days Levi was worked to the bone helping out, and other days were he didn't have much to do while students were in class.

He tried to stay busy, though, and would offer to help whenever it was needed. Though Summer Cove High was a great school, with good students and good staff, there was always a chance someone needed an extra hand – either a student needing a little extra attention, or a teacher finding themselves at wit's end needing a minute to calm themselves down.

Levi was just looking around the school for anything he could do to be helpful when he heard Kelly's cry. He recognized her voice right away and rushed down the hallway to find her on the floor, with her chair nowhere in sight.

"Kelly…"

"Don't tell Sarah about this," Kelly told him right away. She knew if Sarah found out what happened, and why, she would want to come to the school to meet Harley. Kelly was sure the pink Ranger could take care of herself, but she knew Sarah didn't need that kind of attention.

"Are you okay?" Levi asked, a little more concerned with Kelly's wellbeing than with what he would tell anyone else. Kelly nodded her head.

"More frustrated than anything."

"Where's the chair? Who did this?" Levi asked. He could only assume someone had done this to Kelly. If she had fallen out of her chair, it would have still been nearby, even if it wasn't close enough for her to pull herself up.

"Doesn't matter."

"Kelly…"

"It doesn't matter," Kelly repeated.

"This is serious. They could be suspended for this," Levi said. "You can't let them get away with…"

"I did," Kelly said. "And if they can get away with doing this, imagine what Oedius can do if…"

"Hey, don't worry about Oedius," Levi helped her up, so she could sit against the lockers, then he sat next to her. "Sometimes, kids are worse than any monster out there."

"Really?" Kelly asked, unconvinced. "Because at these those jerks just ran off with my chair. The only thing I bruised is my pride and maybe some of my self-esteem. If this had been Oedius, or any of her monsters, I don't think I'd last long enough to call for help."

"You also won't be alone," Levi reminded her. "Besides, your chair has weapons and blasters on it, right? You can use that against monsters. You can't exactly blow a kid to pieces, can you?"

"I kind of want to."

"Me too," Levi chuckled. "But we know better."

"Yeah…"

"So, who did this?" Levi asked her again. Kelly shook her head.

"Doesn't matter. They won't get what they want."

"Sarah?"

Kelly sighed, "I hate that she's doing this alone."

"Your chair getting stolen kind of tells me she's not the only one suffering right now."

"At least, if I could fight back, it wouldn't become a whole thing," Kelly said. "Even if Sarah doesn't use her powers, just meeting with Harley could make everything worse."

"Harley did this?"

"Huh? What…? Why do you think…?"

"Harley Jones? Football captain?"

"Levi, please don't do anything. If he gets suspended or expelled…"

"He deserves it."

"He hates Sarah. He'll find out I ratted him out and it'll be worse for her."

"What about you, Kel? If he doesn't get what he wants, you think he'll leave you alone?"

"I can handle it," Kelly said. Levi looked to her, sitting on the floor, then he stood up. Kelly glared up at him. "You're not nice."

"How about we talk to Principal Hastings about what happened?"

"I…"

"I won't tell Sarah anything," Levi promised. "But we're not letting Harley think he can get away with threatening you."

"Fine," Kelly muttered. Levi knelt in front of Kelly and turned his back to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her up on his back. "I guess as long as we get my chair back, that's all I want. I really don't want to piss him off more."

"We'll just get him to return the chair, then," Levi nodded.


	14. Making Things Worse

_It could be worse_ , Kelly thought to herself as she made her way through the school the next morning, already late for class. Once she was in the classroom, she knew it would get a little easier. Mrs. Finch wouldn't let the other students pick on her, and didn't want anyone to talk about the fact that Sarah was the pink Ranger. "School is for learning, not for gossiping", she would say if she caught some students losing their focus over a few whispers.

But getting to class was hard, especially since Kelly now had to look over her shoulder. She knew Harley was watching her, and she was sure he was waiting for the right moment to pounce. Their talk with principal Hastings the day before had made him to return her chair, and Kelly received a forced apology. Her insistence that nothing happen to him beyond that meant he wasn't suspended for his actions, and didn't even receive detention. Kelly didn't want to anger him further and, if she was honest, it felt a little pathetic for a Ranger to have to rely on their school principal to solve their problems for them.

She made it to the elevator today and reached the second floor. However, as the doors opened, she saw Harley and his friends waiting for her. She let out a sigh and debated whether or not to get out of the elevator. The choice was taken from her as Harley's friends Dirk and Bradley pulled her out. Fortunately, this time they let her keep her chair.

"So, you rat me out, and your girlfriend doesn't show up this morning?"

"I didn't tell her what happened," Kelly answered. "And whatever you do, I'm not going to tell her."

"I just want to talk," Harley said, forcing some softness into his voice as though that would change Kelly's opinion of his intentions.

"Really?" Kelly asked. "Because usually when a guy shows up with his goons to back him up, he wants to fight."

"I ain't no goon!" Bradley growled. He clenched his fists and lunged for Kelly threateningly, but Harley held him back.

"Hey, easy big guy," he said. "She's just trying to get under your skin."

"Yeah, well it's working," Bradley muttered, to which Dirk nodded.

"Just get your girlfriend to show up here."

"No," Kelly shook her head. "Even if you guys just want to talk, and I doubt you do, a lot of people in this city want to hurt her."

"So? Isn't she a Power Ranger? Can't she handle it?" Dirk asked with a laugh.

"It's better if she lays low."

"For who?" Harley asked. "That interview didn't do anything to convince me, and anyone who thinks the Power Rangers are good or heroes or whatever are just as stupid as the rock they crawled out from under."

"You know they are the only thing standing between the monsters and destruction, right?"

"You've got to know about those clones of the big… what did he call himself?" Harley asked, turning to Bradley and Dirk.

"Galanax?"

"Yeah, yeah, Galanax!"

"Galvanax?"

"Whatever," Harley rolled her eyes. "He never would have got that tech if your girlfriend didn't hand it over to him."

"She…"

"Fine, she didn't _intend_ on it being used for evil. She's pure of heart, whatever," Harley said mockingly. "The point is, because of her, Galanax or Galvanax or whatever, managed to flatten this city."

"I know," Kelly nodded. "She lost her father in that…"

"Yeah, I lost my mother, Bradley lost his grandfather and Dirk lost his little sister," Harley told her, rolling his eyes. "We all know someone who died because of that. Difference is, we didn't cause it."

"Sarah's beating herself up over that…"

"She has too much power," Harley said. "And I don't care if she's fighting monsters, she needs to pay for what she did."

"I'm not telling her you want to talk," Kelly shook her head. "She knows she messed up. She doesn't need…"

"I don't care how she's feeling. I know for two years we've all been trying to deal with losing people we care about," Harley growled. "And finally we know who to blame for that! So are you going to tell her to meet with me or what?"

"No. I'm sorry for what happened, and I know Sarah is too, but…"

Harley just rolled his eyes, then nodded his head, his signal for Bradley and Dirk to grab Kelly. They reached for her arms, and she managed to swat their hands away a few times, but eventually Bradley got a good grip on her arm and she couldn't pull free. Dirk grabbed her other arm and they lifted her out of the chair. She continued to struggle, but they held her tight and her legs were useless. She was about to call for help when Harley punched her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

-Ninja-Steel-

Preston checked the clock on the wall, then his watch, just to be sure he had the right time. Kelly had often been late to class since Sarah's reveal. Some students decided to make her life a little more difficult as a result of her connection to Sarah. All the Rangers had to face some consequences of their friendship with the known pink Ranger, but Preston was sure Kelly had it the worst.

Five, ten minutes was usually the max. Kelly would roll into class and very quietly take her spot. Preston would share his notes, so she could quickly get caught up, and then it would be like nothing happened. Mrs. Finch wouldn't bring it up and would keep other students from talking about Sarah during class time.

But now it had been fifteen minutes, and there was still no sign of Kelly. Mrs. Finch had stopped teaching and was going around the class, watching as the students worked. Preston called her over, then pointed to the clock.

"Can I go see what's taking Kelly?" he asked. "I saw her this morning and she should be here by now."

"Go check," Mrs. Finch nodded. Preston didn't know, but this morning, Principal Hastings had called Mrs. Finch to her office. After what happened to Kelly the day before, Hastings thought it might be a good idea to inform her teachers, so they could keep an eye on her. While everyone could understand why some students might be angry with Kelly due to her connection to Sarah, Hastings and the teachers didn't want the school to become a hostile place for any of the students attending – regardless of their position on the Ranger matter or their connection to the pink Ranger. School was for learning.

Knowing there were a few people taking it upon themselves to target Kelly, Mrs. Finch thought it was best two students go looking for her, just in case. "Take Calvin with you," she suggested to Preston, who nodded and signaled for his friend to come. They left the room, closing the door quietly.

"You're worried about her too, huh?" Calvin asked.

"I'm sure it's just some kids blocking her in the hall," Preston said, though truthfully, he wasn't sure that was the case. He wanted to believe it, but there was something in his gut that told him something was wrong.

They walked the hallways, taking the path Kelly would have taken from her locker to the classroom. When they reached the elevator, they saw Kelly's chair, sitting empty, with the green Ranger nowhere in sight.

"Kelly?" Calvin called while Preston checked around the corner. He couldn't see Kelly going far on her own, or why she would want to go anywhere without the help of her chair, but he didn't want to take any chances. She wasn't around the corner, and there was no sign of anyone else either.

Calvin pushed her chair over to Preston, "You don't think she realized she could walk again, do you?"

Preston shook his head, "Should we call the others?"

"Yeah, I think we… wait," Calvin said and grabbed Preston's arm, over his communicator. "All eyes are on us because of Sarah, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, would it look weird if Hayley and Brody have an alarm go off at the same time, and they have to leave, and we all show up to wherever Kelly is?" Calvin asked and Preston took a minute to think about it. Since the Rangers didn't want to do anything to raise suspicion about their own identities and so far, no one really believed that they were all the Power Rangers with Sarah, but with all eyes on them, it might look a bit odd if a gang of kids known to hang out with the pink Ranger, show up to rescue her girlfriend.

"It might," he nodded.

"Until we know the Rangers are needed, maybe we just try and figure out what happened."

"Shouldn't you two be in class?" they heard someone ask and jumped before they turned around and saw it was Levi. As usual, the gold Ranger was wandering the halls, trying to find somewhere he could be helpful until his after school programs started.

"We're looking for Kelly," Preston explained and pointed to her chair. Levi saw it and his fists clenched.

"Harley."

"The football captain?" Calvin asked.

"Kelly didn't want anyone to know," Levi said. "But I found her on the floor yesterday. Harley and some of his friends had decided to mess around with her a bit."

"She didn't say anything," Preston said.

"She didn't want anyone to know," Levi said. "We talked to Principal Hastings about it, but Kelly really didn't want to. She was sure it would just piss him off more."

"That's why she didn't come to first period yesterday," Calvin remarked.

"You said you needed her help," Preston told the gold Ranger.

"I covered for her, yeah," Levi nodded. "I thought we had this handled. Principal Hastings spoke to Harley and he promised it wouldn't happen again but… I guess she was right. But yesterday, I found her without the chair. Harley had taken off with it."

"Looks like it's the other way around this time," Calvin muttered. "Anyone know where he might take her?"

"Gym locker room?" Levi suggested. "That's where he stashed her chair yesterday."

"Worth a shot," Preston shrugged and followed Levi as they made their way down to the gym. Since it was a nice day, the gyn class was taking place outside, so there was no one there. The boys made their way across to the other side and knocked on the boy's locker room door.

"Anyone in here?" Levi asked, but there was no response. He stood outside the door as Calvin and Preston made their way inside to look around. About a minute later, Calvin rushed out in a panic.

"You need to get Principal Hastings," he said.

"Is everything okay?"

"No! Just go get her here!" Calvin said then hurried back inside the locker room. Not wanting to question his friends when he wasn't sure what was going on, Levi hurried out of the gym and rushed to Principal Hasting's office. She seemed to be in the middle of a phone call and looked irritated when he burst into her office without so much as a knock. She held up her index finger to tell him to wait, but Levi figured what he had to say was more important.

"A couple students found Kelly's chair in the hallway upstairs," he said and hearing that, Hastings quickly ended her call and looked to Levi.

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know. She wasn't there," Levi said and the worried look on Hasting's face deepened. "After what happened yesterday, I told the boys to check the locker room and Calvin just came out asking me to get you."

"Do you think this was Harley?" Hastings asked, getting out of her chair to follow Levi.

"Can't be sure…" Levi said. "But it's too much of a coincidence not to be."

He and Hastings rushed to the gym, then knocked on the door to the locker room before they made their way inside. There, they saw Calvin pacing worriedly, wondering what to do, while Preston sat on the floor, with Kelly's head in his lap. She was banged up a little, with some bruises already starting to form on her arms and around her face. She didn't seem aware of her surroundings at all, though her eyes were open, but her right eye was starting to swell.

"Is she okay?" Principal Hastings asked, though the answer was obvious.

"She just woke up," Preston said.

"Kelly?" Principal Hastings knelt next to her and called her name, but Kelly barely responded, even when Hastings touched her arm. "Do you know where you are?"

Kelly still didn't answer. Principal Hastings told the boys to keep their eyes on Kelly as she stepped out of the locker room to rush back to the office. She needed to call an ambulance and she needed to make sure Kelly's father knew what happened.


	15. Spells and Secrets

A full investigation was being done in Summer Cove High. After Calvin, Levi, Preston and Principal Hastings found Kelly, without her chair, and unconscious in the locker room, serious action needed to be taken.

Hastings had called for an ambulance herself after seeing the state of one of her students. While she wasn't necessarily a kid person, and found teenagers to be almost just as revolting, she did care for the education of the public and she knew that to ensure success for future generations, she needed to do her best by the little monsters she found so irritating. It was why she had become a principal instead of a teacher. She wouldn't have to deal with the kids on a day to day basis but could still have a positive impact on their life.

Regardless, she wouldn't stand for violence, which was clearly the case. After calling Kelly's father, and asking that he meet his daughter at the hospital, Hastings made a call to the Silver Guardians. Normally, where the school was concerned, the regular police would be enough, but with the school on edge because of Sarah being the pink Ranger, and Kelly's connection, Hastings thought it might be good to involve an officer who had experience with Rangers.

Gia arrived at the school and after Hastings got her caught up, the Silver Guardian searched the school for Harley, his friends, or anyone else who might look a little suspicious. She instructed all the teachers to keep their students in the classroom, even as the periods changed over, to help facilitate the search.

Harley and his friends weren't found, but Gia assured Hastings that she had officers looking for them around the city. If they were wandering around, they would be found. Gia left a few officers at the school, just to be safe, and then made her way to the hospital. Flashing her badge helped her quickly make her way up to Kelly's room. Levi, Preston, Calvin and Mr. Foster were keeping her company. She seemed more alert now, but the bruises and the black eye were really starting to show.

"You okay, kid?" Gia asked.

"Does Sarah know?" it was the only thing on Kelly's mind right now. She knew that if Sarah found out what happened, she'd want to take care of it. Kelly was certain that was the last thing Sarah should do – for herself and for her reputation in the city.

"I haven't told her anything."

"No one has," Aaron assured his daughter. "But Kelly, maybe…"

"He's going to do the same thing to Sarah."

"But at least she can morph," Preston pointed out.

"If she morphs, someone will claim she's using her powers to hurt people. If she fights back at all, it'll be worse for her."

"And what about you?" Levi asked. It was a question he had raised before with Kelly, but he hoped now it might really sink in. "What are you going to tell her when you go back to Ninja Ops tonight?"

"Training."

"Fine, who beat you up?" Levi asked. "Which one of us has to be the bad guy just to protect the guy who did this to you?"

"Just so I know… who did do this?" Gia asked. Hastings had her suspicions, but Gia wanted to be sure who she was looking for.

"Harley," Kelly muttered.

"Right, so who takes the blame for what Harley did?" Levi asked Kelly.

"I'll say I asked you to go all out," Kelly said. "I'm ready to head back on the battlefield and I want to be sure I can take care of myself."

"Doesn't look like you can," Preston said.

"Please, Levi."

"Fine, I'll cover," Levi said. "But what about school tomorrow? When Sarah doesn't show up to meet Harley? What's he going to do?"

"I…"

"Kelly, this is just going to keep escalating," Aaron told her. "In fact, I'm disappointed you didn't tell me about this yesterday."

"Yeah, but…"

"This kid takes your chair away, and you don't think he'll do something worse?"

"I can handle it."

"Can you?" Aaron gestured to her bruises. "He's assaulted you twice, and I have a feeling he's just fine."

"I'm a Ranger," Kelly grumbled. "I can handle a bully."

"You can't!" Aaron frowned. "Kelly, there's a difference between a monster and a kid."

"If I expect I can handle Oedius, I know I can handle Harley!"

"But you can't use your powers against a kid," Levi reminded her, saying the same words he had said the day before. "Against Oedius, you don't have to hold back. She's proven time and time again that she's a threat and we must do everything in our power to stop her. Harley might be a bully, but you can't exactly blow him to pieces."

"He's right," Gia nodded. "Just because I have a gun, that doesn't mean I should always use it. I can't exactly go shooting a kid robbing a convenience store if he's not threatening to shoot me. If that kid outruns me, that's the way it goes."

"So, then what's the difference between Harley picking on me or Sarah?" Kelly asked her friends, then glanced over to her chair. Aaron shook his head.

"That's not it."

"Everything else is equal, right? I'm a Ranger, just like Sarah. I can't use my powers, neither can she."

"Harley's beef is with Sarah," Calvin said. "That's the difference. He'll pick on you until he gets Sarah."

"Kelly, we all think you can handle Oedius," Preston told her as he took her hand gently. "We've seen you in training. We all trust you to have our backs…"

"I let Harley beat me."

"So, figure out how to keep him from dumping you," Calvin said. "Your girlfriend is one of the best inventors around. You tell her you need a way to make sure you stay in your chair…"

"What about a way to get back in?" Preston asked. He glanced over to the door, just to make sure no one else would be coming in before he took out his wand and spoke a few magic words as he waved it over the chair. For a moment, the chair seemed to glow before everything went back to normal.

"What did you just do?" Kelly asked.

"Wait… the magic thing is real?" Aaron frowned.

"I put a spell on the chair," Preston told her. "If someone tries to take you out of the chair, and you don't want to get out, it won't let you."

"So… I can't be dumped?"

"If it worked," Preston nodded as he looked to his wand, "I haven't really used this thing in a while."

"So, are we just ignoring the real magic thing?" Aaron asked and looked to Gia, who shrugged her shoulders.

"There's a whole team in Briarwood that make that look like child's play," she answered.

"Can I try it?" Kelly asked Preston as she reached for her chair. He nodded and helped her get in her chair. Once she was comfortable, he went to the back to lift her. Kelly felt the chair tilt, and she saw Calvin and Aaron reach to catch her, in case she fell, but she didn't. She stayed in her chair, no matter how far Preston tipped it.

"Harley's going to hate this," Kelly said with a smile before she fell forward. Fortunately, Aaron and Calvin where there to catch her, then help her back into the bed. Preston set the chair back down.

"You have to want to stay in it," he told her. "You know, that way when you go to the bathroom or to bed or something, you can get out no problem."

"Sounds good," Kelly said just as her communicator went off. She looked to Calvin, Levi and Preston before she answered it. "Yeah?"

" _We've got a Basher Bot situation,"_ Sarah told them. _"Madam Oedius must be going as stir-crazy as I am and wants to see a little trouble in the city."_

"We'll be on our way," Kelly answered. She started to reach for the chair, but Levi put his hand on her shoulder.

"You sure that's a good idea?" he asked. "You are hospitalized."

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Preston said.

"I want to prove I can take care of myself," Kelly told them. "I promise, I'll be careful."

"Sarah might wonder why she didn't show up," Calvin added. "You still plan on hiding this from her, right?"

"Yeah," Kelly nodded, then glanced over to Aaron. "I can handle Harley. I know it."

"Alright," he sighed. "Just… be safe."

"I will," Kelly promised.


	16. Lose-Lose

Kelly loved fighting. She loved the power she felt as she was morphed, in her Ranger suit, but still in her chair. While being paralyzed did come with some limitations, she could still do what her friends could do, and what she had been able to do before. For the most part, she just had to make a few adjustments, or find new ways to get around. While her friends all believed in and trusted her, there were always glances from people in the city and kids at school. Glances full of pity, or glances that made her feel like everyone who looked her way doubted her ability to do anything.

But with her friends watching her back, and the training Serena had offered to show her how to fight in a chair, Kelly knew she could handle a few basher bots. She took them down just as easily as when she had been able to walk. Having the weapons upgrades to her chair helped a lot as well and she would have to remember to thank Sarah for tweaking her Power Star.

However, as things were starting to calm down, Kelly could notice the crowd of people who had gathered on the sidewalks to watch. Some were cheering Sarah on by name while others looked to be waiting for the fight to finish so they could start one of their own. Kelly scanned the crowd, wondering what they should do after the fight to deal with the crowd. That was when she spotted Harley and his friends.

Her blood boiled. She felt rage build up to see him, standing there, waiting to confront Sarah himself. His problem was with all the Rangers, but Sarah was the only one identified. The other Rangers could hide behind their masks, but the fallout of this battle would all land on Sarah's shoulders.

Harley would take advantage of that.

"What do we do about the people?" Brody asked as the Basher Bots numbers started to thin out.

"Do? Like… talk to them?" Hayley asked. "Is that a good idea?"

"I don't think they'll listen," Preston said.

"It's probably better if we just leave," Levi suggested. "I mean, Sarah's said everything we have to say in that interview."

As they struck down the final Basher Bot, the Rangers quickly looked for a way to run. The crowd was already starting to fill in on the streets, so escape wasn't easy, but the Rangers were Ninjas. Brody led the way out and they managed to get away.

They arrived in Ninja Ops a few moments later, finally able to power down. Though the fight hadn't been difficult, Calvin let himself fall into the couch as he let out a heavy sigh.

"It could have been worse," he said to his friends. "She couldn't have sent out a real monster."

"I'm just glad I got a chance to get out of Ninja Ops," Sarah muttered as she looked around the base. As much as she liked it, and though her friends did come to visit her every day, it got lonely staying in one place all the time. However, since the whole city knew who she was, it was difficult to get around. She would either be asked for a picture or autograph, or she would have to duck a few punches. Either way, she was sure to be mobbed and it wasn't likely going to end well for her.

This battle had been proof of that. Though Sarah was happy to get out, the crowd that had formed on the sidewalk had her concerned. Basher Bots weren't much of a threat to the Rangers, but anyone unharmed was taking a huge risk approaching them. The Rangers managed to keep everyone safe, but that easily could have been different. If they had made one mistake, or a single basher bot slipped through, someone could have gotten unnecessarily hurt, "But that crowd…"

"I guess now that people know who you are, they feel a little more comfortable being on the scene," Preston said.

"Maybe less comfortable and more… stupidly angry," Kelly muttered as she grabbed herself an ice-pack. She was feeling more than a little worn down after that fight but chalked it up to the beating she had taken at Harley's hands just hours before. She knew it probably wasn't the best idea to head into battle the same day, especially since she hadn't been discharged from the hospital yet, but she couldn't sit back and watched her friends do all the work. Basher Bots were the perfect enemy for her to test out her new skills. It was better to fail against them, than one of Oedius' monsters, or Oedius herself.

"Are you okay?" Brody asked her. Kelly nodded her head, assuming he was asking because of the bruises she was sporting.

"Yeah. This new style takes a bit of getting used to. I took a few hard hits."

"Really?" he asked. "Because those don't look like new bruises."

"New-ish," Preston shrugged.

Sarah made her way over to her girlfriend. She had no reason not to believe Kelly, but the bruises did look bad and the black eye seemed a little suspicious. While their Ranger suits offered incredible protection, they weren't invincible. Still, the helmet was much more rigid and protective than anywhere else.

"Is the suit working okay?" she asked. "When I had to make adjustments to include the chair…"

"It's all fine. We all get bumps and bruises after a fight, right?"

"Yeah, but Brody's right, these don't look fresh. They look at least a few hours old."

"I bruise easily," Kelly said with a shrug, then checked the time on her phone. "Actually, I should probably get going…"

"Going where?"

"Just school stuff," Kelly said, then looked to Levi. "We have to get back for the music program."

Levi glanced at the time, then nodded his head. At least that was true. School would be over shortly, and he did have a music club to run in less than half an hour. If he didn't show up, the students were going to wonder why.

"Right," he said. "Come on, I'll give you a lift."

"Love you," Kelly said to Sarah and kissed her girlfriend before heading out with Levi. Sarah watched her go with a sigh.

"Bye… I guess."

"I… uh… should probably go too," Preston said. He shifted in place a little uneasily. Sarah noticed this and frowned. Preston was always a little nervous, but this seemed a bit odd. "Ever since you were identified, mom's been a little paranoid about knowing where I am during battles. She… well she thinks… uh… you might get me in trouble."

"Presto, are you okay?" Sarah asked. She could see that the more he talked, the more nervous he seemed to get. Almost like he was trying to hide something.

"I'm fine," he nodded. "Just… I've got to go."

"Well, will I see you…" Sarah started, but Preston was already gone. She sighed, "after dinner? Okay, that's weird. What do you think that was about?"

Brody and Hayley shrugged their shoulders. Calvin stayed quiet. It wasn't that he couldn't lie, but Sarah was one of his best friends. He didn't want to lie to her, if he didn't have to. Not to mention, Hayley wasn't aware of what happened to Kelly, so by lying to Sarah, he would be lying to her as well.

His silence didn't go unnoticed, though. Hayley turned to him.

"Do you know what's up?" she asked him. "You did leave first period with Preston and didn't come back."

"Yeah, Kelly also never showed up to class," Brody nodded.

"No… nothing's up," Calvin shook his head. "Hey, anyone want me to pick up ice-cream?"

"Where were you all day?" Hayley asked. Calvin got up from the couch to head out, but Hayley followed him. He knew he couldn't just run out.

"Nowhere."

"But you didn't come back to class."

"Did something happen to Kelly?" Brody asked.

"Why didn't Kelly show up to class?" Sarah frowned.

"Some kids like to block her in the hallway," Calvin said. "It's no big deal, really. Preston and I found her after she didn't show up to class and she was a little upset."

"Upset?"

"It's nothing," Calvin said, but then caught Hayley looking at him and winced. They weren't supposed to lie to each other, and while technically he was lying to Sarah by answering her question, he knew Hayley was wondering the same thing. He shifted nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Really… it's uh… well, we think we have it under control."

"Have what under control?" Sarah asked.

"You should really talk to Kelly about this," Calvin told her, but Sarah started to approach him, a little menacingly. Calvin knew that he could hold her off, but he didn't want it to come to that. "I mean…"

"Calvin…"

"Okay, okay," he caved. He knew he wouldn't have much of a choice. Sarah was surely going to try and break him, and if she wasn't successful, Hayley would be for sure. Both cared deeply for Kelly. Both were going to want answers, and once they found out, they were likely going to share that information with the other. "But… Kelly can't know I talked."

"It wasn't the Basher Bots that beat her up, was it?" Brody asked. Calvin shook his head.

"Not… really. I mean, they probably got a few good punches in. I know my ribs are a little tender but…"

"Who did that?" Sarah growled.

"Some kids at school," Calvin said. "Harley and his friends."

"Who?"

"Football captain," Calvin told her. "Kind of a big guy, mostly a jerk, but amazing at football."

"I thought people were just blocking her in the halls," Hayley said with a deep frown. "She's getting beat up?"

"Just today," Calvin assured. "When she was late to class, Preston and I went to go find her and… well, we found her chair but not her and…"

"They took her out of her chair!" Sarah cried out. Calvin put his hands up.

"Preston and I tracked her down. Levi helped us. We just found out about this a few hours ago, I swear. Levi was there yesterday when they dumped her."

"Why?" Sarah asked. "Why… why are they… why dump her? Why beat her up?"

"They want to talk to you," Calvin said, still looking a little unsure with himself. He knew Kelly wanted to keep this from Sarah, and he understood her reasons. He hated that he was betraying a good friend, but he felt like he risked that whether he spoke or not. "School's been pretty rough since you came out but… Kelly's definitely getting the worst of it."

"He took her out of her chair?" Sarah asked. Calvin nodded his head.

"He's trying to get her to pass on the message to you that he just wants to talk," Calvin explained. "But Kelly won't tell you. She knows you'll go and she knows, no matter what you do, Harley and anyone who finds out about the meeting will take it the wrong way."

"He took her out of her chair…"

"We have it handled," Calvin said. "Besides, she's headed back to the hospital now, and even if they discharge her tonight, I'm sure Mr. Foster isn't going to… I didn't tell you about the hospital, did I?" he asked when he saw Sarah's face turn bright red.

"Excuse me," she growled. She marched to the exit, but before she could leave Brody grabbed her arm.

"Sarah…"

"I don't care what the city thinks, Brody."

"Maybe talk to Kelly about this first?" he suggested. "With everything that's going on…"

"Because she talked to me?" Sarah frowned. "If someone's beating her up and taking her chair, I'm not just going to sit by."

"So, what are you going to do?" Brody asked. "Show up, morphed, and fight the guy? How's that going to prove to anyone that we're here to protect them?"

"I'm not letting them pick on Kelly! I'm not letting some punk kid hospitalize her!"

"Sarah…"

Sarah didn't want to listen as she marched out of the base. Brody looked defeated. He knew he couldn't stop her, but he really didn't want to believe it was a good idea to let her go. However, he knew if tried, someone might become suspicious. While everyone at school knew they were friends, if he showed that he could hold her back, they might wonder how. Rumours were vicious, especially when there was some truth to them.

"I was screwed either way," Calvin said after Sarah left. He looked to Hayley, who had her arms crossed over her chest, looking very unimpressed with her boyfriend. "Hayls…"

"You should have called me."

"You were in class," Calvin told her. "And we had already left. If I called you, you and Brody both would have ditched and then what would everything think?"

"I don't care what they think, Cal. If she's in the hospital…"

"She's fine."

"People who are fine don't go to the hospital," Hayley told him. "They also don't run out on the hospital to fight Basher Bots!"

"Don't look at me. Your dad's the one who let her go."

"Dad knows about all this?"

"He just found out too," Calvin said.

"Did she go back to the hospital?" Hayley asked. Calvin nodded his head.

"I… I think she did," he answered just as Hayley reached into his pocket. She took out the keys to Nitro and stormed off, with Calvin following her looking like a kicked puppy.

"This isn't good," Brody muttered as he lifted his communicator to his mouth.


	17. Bad To Worse

Sarah had considered morphing. Since she had been outed as the pink Ranger, she had only been seen in her Ranger suit, without the helmet, except for the battle. It would at least confirm her identity to any disbelievers and help keep the wrong person from either stealing credit or being blamed for her actions.

Though she wasn't taking Brody's advice, she had listened to him. She knew confronting Harley could be a bad idea, which was why, though she thought it was probably best to show up morphed, she decided against it. She didn't want anyone to think that she was here to beat him up. While she wouldn't be sad if that happened, she did know her Ranger powers gave her an unfair advantage against any regular person, and Harley wasn't exactly threatening her life.

What he had done was threaten and hurt the person she loved most, and after just losing both her parents, Sarah didn't want to see any harm come to Kelly. Her girlfriend was the only one who made her feel like she wasn't drowning.

She stormed into the school, ignoring all the eyes that were focused only on her. Some out of admiration and others who would be glad to see her stripped of her powers, or even dead, depending on how much they truly hated her. However, despite all their talk, no one was brave enough to go near her.

Unlike the other Rangers, Sarah had no problem making her way through the halls of the school. She practically kicked down the door to the gym, where the football team was doing some drills, and called Harley out. He smirked as he set down his football and gave a quick nod to a couple of his friends before he walked over.

"She actually told you. I have to say, I'm kind of disappointed," he said. "I was really looking forward to our little prank tomorrow."

"What do you want?" Sarah growled.

"I want you to turn yourself in," Harley said. "You're a danger to this city."

"That's your opinion…"

"That's a fact!" Harley raised his voice, angry already that she wasn't cooperating. He had known that she wouldn't just turn herself over, but to hear her deny how dangerous she could be, in front of everyone, frustrated him greatly. "My mother's dead thanks to you."

"I…"

"Those clones you created, they got her killed. Everyone on the football team lost someone because of her, and you've spent the last couple of years getting straight As, hanging out with your friends and banging your girlfriend? How's that fair?"

"It's not," Sarah admitted, and she could see Harley relaxed a little, hearing that. He wasn't completely wrong. After the clones, her life didn't exactly stay picture perfect, but she had done well for herself. She had lost her father, but that had been the result of her own actions, even if it was indirectly. Harley, and anyone else who lost a loved one, were made into victims completely out of their control.

"So, if Power Rangers are supposed to be goody-two shoe action heroes, protecting the world and the city, why's a magic star letting a murderer run around in pink spandex? If you mean anything of what you said in that interview, you'd turn yourself in."

"I hate what happened," Sarah said, and though it felt like she had said that many times to herself in her head, to her friends, her mother and now to the city, it never felt like enough. "You have to understand how much I hate what happened but at the end of the day, Galvanax used my technology in a way I never intended. If I known, or even thought for a second that he could do even a fraction of the damage that he did, I never would have invented the holo-clones."

"I hate what happened too," Harley said. "I'm graduating this year and my mother won't be able to see it. After everything she did to help me with school, with football, she has to die painfully in a disaster you caused. And you don't have to face the consequences? Or what about Dirk's little sister? Thirteen and she's already dead."

"I…"

"More people died in that attack, than all the other monster attacks in Summer Cove in history!" Harley told her. "And you're at the ice-cream parlour making kissy faces with the cripple?"

"I'm sorry."

"You will be," Harley said. He glanced over Sarah's shoulder and she turned around to see police officers racing into the gym. As soon as they spotted her, they pulled out their guns, aiming them right for her. Sarah put her hands up, and as she did, she saw Harley giving props to Bradley, who was smirking as he held his phone.

"You called the cops?" she asked.

"The real police," Harley nodded. "Not that Silver Guardian who bails you out of everything."

"Put your weapons on the ground," one officer told her. Sarah sighed.

"I don't have a weapon."

"That star thing that turns you into a Power Ranger," the officer clarified. Sarah slowly reached for the Star in her back pocket and gripped it tightly.

"I need to keep this."

"Put it down."

"Oedius is after these," she explained. "I have to keep it safe."

"Put it down!" the officer shouted and she could see his finger on the trigger. She knew the gun was pointed at her. She knew the officer and his whole team were only looking to shoot her, but if one gun went off unexpectedly, it wasn't just her they risked shooting. The gym was full of students and teachers who had come to watch Sarah confront Harley. Levi was even standing at the door, watching, wishing he could help. Any one of them could easily end up getting shot and Sarah wouldn't risk that. She made quick eye contact with Levi as she slowly set her Power Star on the floor. As soon as it was out of her hands, two of the officers grabbed her and quickly slapped the handcuffs on her.

While they dragged her out, another officer bent over to pick up the Power Star. By then, Levi had pushed his way to the front of the crowd.

"Hey, uh, you sure you want to touch that thing?" he asked and hoped that since he wasn't a student, and since he was Levi Weston, that the officer would listen to him. "You don't know what it can do."

"I'm under strict orders to bring this back to the captain," the officer said. "For everyone's safety, this is better off locked up than in the wrong hands."

"I mean, you aren't wrong," Levi shrugged as he careful thought out what to say. He could say much about the Power Stars and give himself away, but he also didn't want to let the police officer walk out with it, and make it that much harder for him and the Rangers to protect from Oedius. "But if she's right and that monster is looking for them… is a safe really going to keep it, well, safe?"

"You just stick to writing songs, Mr. Weston," the officer said. He walked past Levi, bumping shoulders with him as he started to leave. He didn't even make it to the gym doors when there was a scream from the school hallways. Spooked, the students and teachers raced further into the gym as the police pulled out their guns once more. Levi stayed close to them, worried that this might be exactly what he feared.

It wasn't. At least, no exactly. Oedius hadn't come to collect the Power Star, but she had sent a monster in her place. Levi remembered her from a brief encounter before a fight – Badonna. Levi didn't know much about her, or what she could do, except that she worked for Oedius. Clearly, if Oedius had sent her, it meant she had to be quite powerful.

On the bright side, at least it meant Oedius still wasn't well enough to stir up trouble herself. Levi doubted she would miss an opportunity to personally steal a Power Star.

"I'll be taking that," she said to the officer as she pointed to the Power Star he carried. The officer shook his head.

"I can't turn it over."

"You might want to," Levi said. He hated to think he was helping Oedius get a Power Star, but at least if it was in Oedius' hands, it would make sense for why the gold Ranger was trying to steal it back. He didn't think it would help the Rangers' reputation if they were caught stealing from the police station, and he knew he couldn't risk doing so as Levi Weston.

"Shut it, rodeo-clown," the officer said. "You stick to…"

"I know, writing songs," Levi nodded. "But…"

"Can we stop this chit-chat?" Badonna asked. "Hand over the Power Star, or I'll pry it from your corpse."

Hearing that threat, an officer shot his gun at Badonna. The bullet did nothing to pierce her thick flesh and barely dented her clothes. Unfortunately, Badonna still felt the bullet and knew the officer had just tried to kill her. With a smirk, she walked towards him. The officer, seeing his gun, his most powerful weapon, did nothing to hurt her, backed away in terror.

However, he wasn't quick enough to get away from Badonna. Levi watched as she grabbed him by the throat and in one quick motion, snapped his neck. The officer dropped, lifeless, to the ground as students and teachers let out terrified cries.

"Damn," Levi muttered under his breath. Now there was a panic. He didn't want to risk revealing himself as the gold Ranger, but he couldn't let Badonna kill anyone else. As she turned to the officer holding the Power Star, he called for everyone to open fire on her. Just like with the first bullet, none could harm her. However, this time, the sound of firing guns triggered a real panic as everyone tried to get out. The doors leading to the hallway were blocked by Badonna and the police and there were too many people in the gym for a quick exit through the back doors. Levi tried helping as many people get out as he could, but it wasn't enough. A few bullets ricocheted off Badonna, striking officers, teachers, and even students who were unfortunate enough not to get out. As they dropped, crying out in fear, Levi reached for his own Power Star.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The officer who held Sarah's Power Star had been killed, and Badonna took the star from him and swiftly disappeared.

"She warned them," Levi muttered as he looked around at the damage caused. It was no surprise to him that Oedius knew when to strike. She was always one step ahead of the Rangers and since it was all over the news that Sarah was the pink Ranger, he was sure she was waiting for this exact moment. As he raced to help those who were injured, he could only hope that the city would come to understand that the Rangers were necessary.


	18. One Changed Mind

"I knew it!" Kelly shouted as she watched the news from her hospital bed, her friends by her side. "I knew it! I knew it!"

"You called it," Preston agreed.

"I knew it!" Kelly shouted again, then turned to the boys with a sharp glare, "Who told her? I knew if she found out, she'd go see him and it would all go to hell? Who blabbed?"

Preston shook his head. Levi wasn't there to defend himself. Brody and Hayley quickly glanced to Calvin, who Kelly thought looked more than just a little guilty.

"If I could get up right now, I'd kick your ass!"

"I couldn't lie to Hayley," Calvin said.

"Don't yell at him," Hayley said jumping to Calvin's defense. "You should have told us what was happening."

"No, because then this happens!" Kelly said and pointed to the TV. "This is exactly what I was trying to prevent!"

"Harley beat you up!"

"Sarah's in prison!" Kelly screamed. "She's in prison, Oedius has her power star, three students, one teacher and six officers are dead! That wouldn't have happened if motor-mouth over here didn't blab!"

"So, you were just going to keep lying about your bruises?" Hayley asked her. "Keep getting beat up?"

"Yes!"

"You would do that to Sarah? To us?"

"She's in prison! At least when I'm lying to her, she's safe in Ninja Ops!"

"What the hell is happening?" Gia growled as she made her way into the room. "Why am I getting calls about Sarah causing a school shooting?"

"She didn't cause it, dumb-dumb over here did," Kelly muttered as she pointed to Calvin.

"Harley's been picking on Kelly," Calvin said. "He wanted to talk to Sarah…"

"And you let that happen?"

"No," Calvin shook his head. "But Sarah found out what happened after he beat Kelly up."

"He beat you up?"

"Not the point!" Kelly said and pointed to the TV.

"So the point," Preston argued.

"Why is Sarah confronting anyone?" Gia asked and gave the Rangers a look to tell them she wanted a straight answer.

"She found out Harley beat up Kelly and went to talk to him," Calvin said.

"Which she wouldn't have done if Calvin didn't talk."

"I wasn't going to lie to Hayley," Calvin said. "Sarah just… happened to be in the room when I didn't lie."

"Can one of you rainbow dumbasses explain to me how the pink dumbass got herself arrested?" Gia growled. "They've gone over my head to the mayor. I can't get her out, I can't bail her out. I can't even take her into protective custody?"

"We tried to stop her," Brody said. "But when Sarah gets an idea in her head…"

"Yeah, she's stubborn. I know stubborn," Gia nodded. "But there's six of you and one of her, and you're telling me no one could pin her down and beat the sense into her? Confronting anyone, as a Ranger or not is absolutely idiotic."

"She never threatened to morph," Preston pointed out.

"I don't have to threaten people with a gun for them to feel threatened that I have one," Gia told him. "Do any of you understand how much trouble this puts all of us in?"

"Maybe it could help?" Levi suggested as he arrived. His shirt was stained in blood and he looked rather exhausted but nodded to his friend to let them know he was okay. "I was at school for it all. Preston's right, Sarah never even threatened to morph."

"And as I told him…"

"Sarah didn't escalate anything. Sure, she stormed into the gym, but she went in there alone against the whole football team and probably half of the school," Levi said. "And when Harley was talking to her, she listened."

"Sarah listening isn't going to…"

"Harley called her out," Levi said. "Harley beat up Kelly so Sarah would show up. When she does, he gets his friend to call the cops. They show up, obviously they don't want Sarah to be able to morph so they make her put away her Power Star. Sarah even told them what might happen if they forced her to give it up, but they didn't care."

"The city isn't going to see it that way," Gia said. "All they're going to know is that if Sarah never showed up, the people killed would still be alive."

"So that's it?" Preston asked. "Harley sets all this up and Sarah gets blamed for it?"

"How's that any different than what he's accusing her of?" Kelly asked. "If she's to blame because Galvanax used her technology the wrong way, why isn't Harley responsible for what Badonna did to get the Power Stars? If he didn't beat me up, Sarah never would have felt the need to protect me?"

"I'm headed down to the police station," Gia said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, frustrated over the fact that she had no idea what to do now. She agreed with the Rangers that Harley had to take some, if not most of the responsibility for what happened, but she knew the city wouldn't want to see it that way. "While I'm gone, I don't want to see any Ninja Rangers in public, at all, suit or not. Do you understand?"

"Yes," they all nodded.

-Ninja-Steel-

"I told them!" Sarah said to the police captain as she beat the bars of her cell with her fists. "I told your officers I needed to keep my Power Star safe. I told them Oedius was after it, but they didn't listen. How is that my fault?"

"All I know, sweetheart, is that you show up and I lose six guys."

"And if your guys let me out of the handcuffs when we first heard the screams…"

"You're a threat."

"I could have saved them!" Sarah shouted and punched the bars again.

"Have you ever stopped to think about what might have happened if you Rangers never showed up?"

"World domination by a galactic brute and his evil fox-like bitch?"

"How do you know they wouldn't have taken those stars and just taken off?"

"Two years of getting my ass kicked," Sarah muttered. "Look, those stars choose us! They needed to be protected. Even I don't understand why completely but I know, in anyone else's hands, these are a danger."

"But not yours?"

"As soon as I let mine go, people died," Sarah said. "You tell me."

"You, shut up," Gia said to the pink Ranger as she arrived. The police captain looked to her, unimpressed.

"This isn't your case. You aren't even back to work."

"How about you let my bosses deal with whether or not I'm getting paid for this," Gia growled. "You can't hold her here."

"Why? Because she's a Power Ranger? Considering the circumstances, I don't think you're in a position to have any power here. The mayor knows exactly what's going to happen and he's already approved it."

"She's seventeen!"

"She drives a giant train through the city. If she's old enough to _'protect the city',_ she's old enough to pay for her crimes."

"What crimes?"

"Murder."

"Who has she killed?"

"Shall I pull out my list?"

"The clones?" Gia asked.

"She admitted it was her technology that was used to make those clones."

"Doesn't mean she killed anyone," Gia said. She pointed to the captain's gun. "So, if that thing kills someone, are you going to arrest the guy who built it for murder?"

"Of course not."

"You gonna arrest the guy who invented it?"

"No."

"Are you going to arrest the people who developed the atomic bomb?" Gia asked him. "Pretty sure that's killed more people that Sarah's clones."

"If you're insinuating that the pink Ranger isn't responsible for the destruction of the city…"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

"If these Rangers never showed up…"

"If the Rangers never showed up, the world as we know it would be gone," Gia said. "Galvanax and his crew didn't show up because the Rangers were here. The Rangers got their powers because Galvanax showed up! Those monsters threatened us first and this kid is risking her life to save you!"

"Yes, but…"

"And are you kidding me with this whole destroying the city, thing?" Gia asked. "Are you seriously telling me that in the line of duty, things haven't gotten a little messy? Plans have always gone according to plan and you've never, in the history of your long and boring career, had a casualty?"

"I…"

"You're telling me, when the bullets are flying, and you're doing everything you can to keep people safe, that something hasn't gone wrong?" Gia asked. "Because, on my way in here, I walked by a wall full of badges of fallen officers. Many of whom died while you were their captain. And you have the nerve to tell me you expect this kid to do better?"

"She has a lot more power than I do."

"Yeah, and her criminals are a lot tougher than a few thugs," Gia said. "Trust me, I've done both jobs and there really is no comparison."

The captain looked to Gia, then to Sarah. As Gia had instructed, the pink Ranger had remained silent.

"You know," Gia added, her voice calmer now that she could see the police captain doubting his order. "She saved my daughter's life. Not as the pink Ranger, though I'm pretty sure she's done that too but, once, my mother took my daughter to the park and Ciara, that's my little girl's name, she choked. Mom's usually pretty good under pressure but she panicked. Sarah a perfect stranger, rushed right in and pulled the rock out of my daughter's throat. And after my brother in-law died, in the line of duty, she stopped by to drop off presents for the kids. She gave his son an action figure of his father that she made, so he could always have his father by his side."

"I didn't know that," the captain said.

"There's this girl, Melanie," Gia said. "She's one of the girls I picked up when we arrested Drex and Kathryn. You remember them. She was just a kid herself, still in high school, but somehow wound up working for Drex. After being placed with her foster family, Melanie still wanted to get back into prostitution. She was out, she was safe, but she still wanted back into that life."

"It happens all the time," the captain nodded. "Some girls just… can't be saved."

"She's doing well now," Gia said and glanced quickly at Sarah to say that. "I don't know what you said to her kid, but she swears you've changed her life for the better."

"She's okay?"

"Graduating this year," Gia nodded. "Already accepted into Summer Cove College and volunteering at the women's shelter in her spare time."

"That's amazing!" Sarah smiled.

Gia nodded then looked back at the captain. "You know, Sarah's got this weird brain injury too. Can't read or write, at all. Want to know how that happened?"

"Too many alien punches to the head?"

"KInda," Sarah shrugged.

"Well, word on the Ranger vine is, Sarah was already suffering a pretty bad head injury that actually forced her Power Star to unchoose her. It was this whole thing, I can't go into the details because, well, confidentiality, of course. The point is, Sarah wasn't the pink Ranger for a time, right?"

"I couldn't be," Sarah nodded. "I was too injured to fight safely, and the brain injury was causing violent fits of rage that I couldn't control. The Power Star didn't like that."

"Interesting," Gia smirked. "The Power Star stripped her of her powers when she proved to be too dangerous and unpredictable? Well, that's like what I've been trying to say this whole time."

Sarah chuckled, and the captain scratched his head as Gia continued.

"Anyways, even without her powers, word has it, Sarah saw a woman in trouble and rushed in to save her, head injury and all. Got herself killed in the process because she was already hurt. Am I right?"

"Killed?" the captain frowned. "But you're…"

"That woman ended up being an alien from another planet. They aren't all bad, by the way. Anyway, to thank Sarah for the sacrifice… didn't she give you a second life?"

"She did."

"Point is, all those times Sarah saved or helped someone, she wasn't morphed. She didn't even use her powers. She's a good person."

"Still," the captain said. "I have orders from the mayor to keep her locked up, and the whole city wants to see her pay for…"

"Pay for what?" Gia asked.

"All the pain the Rangers caused."

"Even if they did cause pain," Gia said. "You don't think that's outweighed by all the good they've done? All the lives they've saved, both as Rangers and as regular people?"

The captain looked over his shoulder, then back at Gia. "I'm really sorry, but you don't have any authority here, and I'm under strict orders to keep her locked up. Even if I did change my mind, there's nothing I could do."

"Oh, come on. That was inspiring, wasn't it?" Gia asked, but the captain merely shook his head and walked away. Gia turned to Sarah and sighed. "Well, kid, I tried. Guess you'll learn what it's like to spend a night in…"

The sound of something hitting the ground interrupted Gia as she turned to see what it was. The captain was still walking away, but it seemed he had dropped his keys.

"Hey!" Sarah called out but Gia grabbed her through the bars and shook her head.

"Shut up," she said, then raced to grab the keys before the captain realized they were gone. She unlocked the prison and grabbed Sarah again, dragging her off. "I'm not letting you or the other rainbow dumbasses out of my sight. Come on, before he comes back."

"Rainbow dumbasses?"

"A club for kids in colourful spandex who do stupid shit and get themselves in trouble for it. Don't be too offended. I'm your president."

"One day, you'll have to tell me your stories."

"No."


	19. Coming Together

The media was vicious. Shane had to admit, the whole situation looked bad, but the media made it seem much, much worse.

He couldn't understand why Sarah would want to confront anyone, but he had to trust that his niece had her reasons. While she could sometimes be a bit impulsive, Sarah wasn't normally one to throw caution to the wind. There had to be a good reason for her going after Harley that the media didn't see.

However, what they did see, and what most people were ignoring, was that Harley had been the one to call the police. He got the officers involved, who forced Sarah to give up her Ninja Star. Shane had watched the whole footage. He saw the guns come out, despite the room being full of people. He saw Sarah immediately put her hands up. He saw her look around the room and analyse the risk even a single shot would pose on anyone in the room and he saw her surrender her Star to keep everyone safe.

He saw all that because he knew his niece. The media didn't want to see that. They didn't want to get to know her. They wanted her persecuted for what happened.

" _It was terrible,"_ a student said as she wiped away tears. _"The pink Ranger just showed up. Harley did the right thing. He called the police, but even they couldn't stop that monster when she showed up."_

" _Do you think the pink Ranger is responsible for what happened?"_ the interviewer asked, and the teen nodded.

" _If she never came to school, that monster never would have shown up."_

Shane turned off the TV. No one cared why Sarah would to school in the first place – not that Shane knew, but he was determined to find out. He rushed over to Ninja Ops, where Preston, Calvin, Hayley, Brody, Levi, and Kelly were sitting, watching the same news channel he had seen at home. When he arrived, they turned the TV off. Shane looked to the teens, then stopped when his eyes landed on Kelly. He had seen bruises before on the teens, and knew from his own experience what a painful bruise looked like, as well as a fresh bruise. Kelly had both not just on her face, but her arms and what he could see of the top of her chest.

"I'm fine," she promised before Shane could ask. "Hospital just discharged me. There's nothing to worry about."

"Your face…"

"Thanks," she muttered.

"Was that from the basher bots?" he asked.

"Harley," Calvin said. Kelly was already made at him for talking, he figured she couldn't be madder at him for telling Shane the truth. "That kid who called the cops of Sarah."

"He beat you up?" Shane said and it suddenly all made sense. Sarah hadn't just shown up at school because she was bored or wanted to cause trouble. She had gone to confront Harley for beating up her girlfriend. "How is this the first I'm hearing about this?"

"Because no one knows," Hayley said and glanced at Kelly.

"If no one knew, this wouldn't have happened," Kelly responded.

"Maybe if you had just told us from the start what Harley was doing…"

"I could handle it!"

"He sent you to the hospital!"

"But I'm fine!"

"Yeah, because Calvin and Preston came looking for you!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Mick called as he arrived at the base, carrying some food with him. As he set down the groceries, he turned to the team. "What's with all the yelling?"

"We're in the middle of a fight," Brody said.

"With Oedius, because I haven't seen her for days."

"With each other. Well, mostly them," Levi said as he pointed to Hayley and Kelly. While all the Rangers had an opinion on what happened, Hayley and Kelly were the ones going for each other's throats. Kelly was certain that if Calvin hadn't told Sarah about Harley and his abuse, none of this would have happened. She had been determined to do what she needed to keep Sarah out of trouble and didn't care that it involved a rough beating and a trip to the hospital. She felt that was better than what had happened.

Hayley, both worried for Kelly's wellbeing and in defense of her boyfriend being honest about the situation, felt that Kelly should have told someone right away when Harley started to pick on her. She was certain that if the Rangers knew what was happening, they could have done something to stop it before Sarah felt the need to storm off and deal with it herself.

"Over what?"

"How dumbass here can't keep his mouth shut," Kelly muttered.

"Actually, how dumbass here did keep her mouth shut," Hayley retorted.

"Name calling? Fighting? This isn't like you," Mick frowned.

"Actually, this is how we were when we first met," Kelly reminded Mick. "She hated my guts."

"You outed Sarah!"

"Well, this is productive," Mick muttered. "So, we've come full circle? You two can't work together or…"

"I knew if Sarah went to talk to Harley, something bad would happen," Kelly said. "And I knew if she found out what he did, she would want to talk to him!"

"You still should have said something," Hayley said as she rolled her eyes.

"It's because Calvin said something that this all happened. I had it under control!"

"A hospital trip doesn't count as under control!" Hayley said. "You think the girlfriend with the recently dead parents and the brain injury likes to find out the person she loves is hiding a trip to the hospital from her?"

"I… I guess I didn't think about that," Kelly said.

"Well, what did you think about?" Mick asked.

"Sarah," Kelly said. "Harley came up to me the other day. He asked if I could pass on a message to Sarah, I said no. So, he dumped me out of my chair and ran off with it. Levi found me, we spoke to Principal Hastings, got my chair back and that's lunch. It was fine. I could handle it."

"But that's not all that happened?"

"The next day, Harley came up to me again. He was disappointed because Sarah didn't come to see him like he hoped, and I told him I wasn't going to talk to her. So, he and a couple guys dragged me out of my chair, into the locker room and beat me up a bit."

"And you still didn't think you should tell Sarah?" Hayley asked. "Or… anyone?"

"I… I guess I was a bit… humiliated," Kelly said. "I mean… without this stupid chair… I'm nothing."

Hayley fell silent. She didn't know what to say. Kelly continued.

"Here am I, the green Ranger, ready to face Oedius again when she shows up, and then these three kids from school easily over power me? I get dumped out of my chair and I'm helpless. I had to call for help as I was lying on the ground. If Levi hadn't come by, I could have been there all period, and no one would have known. Then the guys beat me up, and the only thing I could do to defend myself was beg them to stop… kinda felt like Drex all over again."

"Helpless?" Mick asked, and Kelly nodded her head.

"I know I probably should have said something earlier," Kelly said. "And I know we're a team for a reason but… it was the first time I got into trouble since the chair and I guess… I wanted to know I could get myself out of it."

"Kelly, there's a difference between being helpless and needing help," Mick reminded her as he made his way over and knelt before her. "You aren't helpless."

"Yeah, but when everyone's telling you that… you kinda start to believe it."

"Who's saying that?" Levi asked. "Harley?"

"You," Kelly pointed to him, then to Calvin, Preston, Hayley and Brody. "All of you, in a way."

"We've never meant…"

"You found me on the floor, and the first thing you wanted me to do was tell Hastings," Kelly said. "I promised you I had it under control."

"But you didn't."

"We didn't know that," Kelly said. "All Harley did was dump me and call me a few names. He didn't hurt me. I said… I said I could handle it, but you didn't believe me."

"I didn't tell anyone," Levi told her, but Kelly shook her head.

"You had me tell Principal Hastings, even though I didn't want to. Harley wasn't impressed with that this morning, which I think is why he thought about beating me up. I ratted him out and he got angry, just like I said he would."

"Kelly, I'm sorry. I just… I didn't want it to happen again."

"I know," Kelly nodded. "And I know you guys don't think I'm helpless but… it's hard not to feel that way sometimes. Especially when… you know; you are."

"Kelly, you aren't helpless," Mick repeated.

"Locker room Kelly might beg to differ," Kelly said. "Or raped Kelly, or Kelly getting kicked out of her home. If Hayley and Calvin hadn't shown up, and if Hayley never offered to let me stay, I'd be living under a bridge for sure!"

"Those are times you needed help," Mick told her. "We all have times where we need help."

"You can get up when you're lying on the floor."

"We all have different needs," Mick said. "And just because sometimes we need help with those needs, that doesn't mean we're helpless."

"You don't have to sit in the chairs at school anymore," Brody pointed out to Kelly. "You get a chair that's designed for you, with a cushion, that's ten times more comfortable."

"You never have to worry about sitting on the floor on movie nights," Calvin told her. "You can if you want to, but if you don't, you always have the option of sitting in your chair."

"Yeah, I hate when I get stuck on the floor," Preston muttered.

"Great, so I have a chair everywhere I go."

"A chair that helps you get around. You couldn't get very far without it."

"We all have our limitations," Mick told Kelly with a smile. "Yours just take some getting used to. But we all saw you in that fight. You did great, and it's only going to get better and easier for you from here."

"Especially since Preston rigged your chair," Levi reminded her. "Harley won't be able to knock you out of it anymore. No one can."

Kelly nodded her head. She knew her friends were right, "I guess I'm not exactly coping with the wheelchair as well as I thought I was."

"And I guess we should have considered that a bit more too," Hayley said. "I didn't mean to make you feel helpless. I was just thinking about… well, you not getting beat up again."

"I know," Kelly assured her. "You were just trying to help. And even though I was right about what would happen if Sarah talked with Harley, I really didn't think about how she might feel if I didn't tell her."

"So, are you two good now?" Shane asked and the girls nodded their heads. "Good, because Sarah's still in prison, and…"

"No, she's not!" Gia announced happily as she arrived at Ninja Ops with Sarah right behind her. As soon as the pink Ranger saw Kelly, she rushed over to her girlfriend and took her in a tight hug.

"Are you okay?"

"Me?" Kelly asked. "You were just in jail!"

"I heard about Harley; what he did," Sarah said. She looked to the bruises on her girlfriend once more and felt stupid for thinking they could have been from the battle. While the Rangers did bruise, their suits always absorbed most of the impact. Bruises never really swelled up or got as big as Kelly's. "I wish you told me."

"I know. I'm sorry. But I swear, I'm okay," Kelly promised.

"You got her out?" Shane asked Gia.

"Broke her out," she answered. "Pretty sure I'm going to be wanted pretty soon too, but…"

"You broke her out?"

"More like I took advantage of the keys being left on the floor, put them in the lock, turned it, opened the cell and dragged her out myself."

"You could lose your job for that."

"Why are people so concerned about my job?" Gia frowned. "Let me worry about Wes and Eric. I promised you I'd help with Sarah and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"How long do you think it'll be before word gets out that Sarah's not in custody anymore?" Levi asked.

Gia shrugged her shoulders, "Depends on how closely they were going to watch her. Pretty sure we have the police captain on our side now, but public opinion is really turning against us."

"Uh… you might want to see this," Mick called out after he checked the scanners. He went to the TV to turn it on. Right away, the Rangers could see video of a riot in the Ranger museum. Gia already knew that most of the displays were only replicas, and anything that was the real deal was in no way dangerous even in the wrong hands. However, it wasn't the destruction that was a real concern, it was the intention. They were protesting the Rangers.

Staff from the museum were fleeing, and the Rangers all couldn't help but notice that it was only the former Rangers who worked at the museum who were trying to keep everything under control. Still, it got to be too much for Koda, Kendall, Shelby and Chase.

"Where are the police?" Brody asked. Gia pointed to the screen.

"Pretty sure that's one of them… Hey! That's my replica blaster!" Gia frowned.

"They're rioting?" Calvin frowned.

"We don't take too kindly to losing our own men," Gia told him. "And a lot of people are convinced Sarah's the reason that monster showed up."

"Badonna," Preston said. "Not as bad as Oedius but still bad."

"But that wasn't Sarah's fault," Kelly frowned. "Harley did it! He asked to meet Sarah. He wanted to meet her at the school!"

"Doesn't matter… oh, that's just not cool," Gia said to the TV as she watched footage of someone stealing the Ranger key replicas and smashing them with their foot.

"You really can't show your face again," Shane said to her as her phone started to ring. Gia saw it was Emma calling her and sighed as she answered it.

"Hey, Em… Yeah, I'm watching it… Yeah, I know…. Yeah, I know…. Yeah. You're right." Gia covered the mouthpiece with her hand and looked to the others. "I'm in trouble. Excuse me."

As she stepped out quickly, the Rangers went back to watching the news. Between showing footage of the riots, the media was still conducting interviews, asking people what they thought about the Rangers and especially about Sarah showing up at the school.

Everyone, without fail, blamed Sarah for what happened. The idea being that if Sarah had never showed up, none of this would have happened.

"Oh great," Preston muttered and rolled his eyes as another interview began and it was Victor on the screen.

" _I have Victor Vincent here with me,"_ the reporter announced. _"He's one of the many students that attend Summer Cove high and he was one of the students present at the time of the school attack."_

" _Class president, top athlete and best student,"_ Victor said to correct her. The reporter rolled her eyes quickly before starting her questions.

" _You were there during the attack."_

" _I watched Sarah walk into the school. She did not look happy."_

" _Why do you think she decided to stop by the school?"_ the reporter asked him. Victor shrugged.

" _Well, I can't say for sure, but she wasn't happy,"_ he said. _"And I know there's been a lot of drama since it was revealed she was the pink Ranger."_

" _A lot of your classmates aren't happy to hear she's the pink Ranger. They think she causes more trouble than the Rangers are worth. Do you agree?"_

" _No,"_ Victor shook his head. Calvin nearly fell out of his seat.

"Wait… what?"

"Is Victor on our side?" Brody asked.

" _It makes sense now. Sarah's been a student here since the Power Rangers showed up. I should know. I personally showed her around the school myself on her first day."_

"Yeah, because that went well," Sarah rolled her eyes.

" _We didn't have any trouble at the school until you revealed who she was,"_ Victor pointed out.

"Who is this kid?" Gia asked as she returned. "I like him."

" _I mean, there was some trouble but Sarah mostly kept to herself and her friends. She didn't really bring it into the school."_

" _By trouble, what do you mean?"_

" _She got a hot new TA who sits in all our classes with us,"_ Victor said. _"She got this brain disease thing that means she can't read or write, so she needs someone to do her work for her."_

" _Any other trouble?"_

" _That's about it,"_ Victor said. _"I never would have suspected she was a Ranger until you revealed her. There was no trouble."_

" _So, what do you think changed?"_

" _Well… school's been weird since Sarah was outed,"_ Victor said. _"She's got these loser friends she always used to hang out with and since most of the school kinda hates her, they take it out on them."_

"So, Victor's not a dumbass after all," Hayley muttered.

" _Her girlfriend, especially been taking a lot of the heat."_

" _Girlfriend?"_

" _Yeah… Kelly or something."_

" _The pink Ranger's girlfriend goes to this school?"_

" _All her friends do. Well, non-Ranger friends. Trust me, those guys she hangs out with are total losers. They could never be Rangers."_

"That's the Victor I know," Kelly smiled.

" _Anyway, I'm on the football team and the captain… You know, I'd be captain but with being class president and all my other commitments, I just don't have the time for it. Well, the captain's been bragging recently about how's he's going to get the pink Ranger into trouble. Make her pay for all the trouble and blah, blah, blah. Next thing I know, Kelly's not coming to class. Two days in a row. We're in a lot of the same classes and she's the only kid in a wheelchair, so it's pretty obvious when she doesn't show up."_

" _Why wasn't she coming to class?"_

" _Not sure, but the second day she didn't come, two of her friends went to check up on her and they never came back,"_ Victor explained. _"One of them is a real dork. Like, probably the dorkiest of them all. He likes to put on little magic shows that no one watches."_

"Stay on point, Victor," Preston grumbled.

" _They didn't come back and there was an ambulance that showed up to school. I always sit by the window so I can see what's going on inside and outside the school. I saw the ambulance pull up and then a few minutes later, they're taking someone out, and the magician and his car-loving friend are leaving with it. Couldn't tell for sure who was on the stretcher, but I think it's safe to assume it might have been Kelly."_

" _What do you think happened?"_

" _All I know, Sarah finally shows her face again and she's not happy,"_ Victor said. _"And rumour has it, when school starts up again, Harley won't be coming back. I mean, I know everyone's not a genius like me, but if you happen to get expelled from school on the same day a bunch of people die in the gym, you probably did some real bad shit."_

" _You think Harley hurt Sarah's girlfriend? You think she came to give him the old Ranger one two?"_

" _I thought it might come to that,"_ Victor answered honestly, _"but… Sarah never morphed. She even put her star stuff down when the cops pulled out their guns. I don't think she was here to cause trouble at all."_

" _How do you think the cops knew to come?"_

" _Harley had his friend call them. If they hadn't shown up… I don't think any of this would have happened."_

" _So, you're taking the Rangers' side, even if it's the unpopular opinion."_

" _I'm never unpopular, but yes. Sarah wasn't here as a Ranger… I don't think so, anyway. Harley started all this trouble and she was just trying to stop it as Sarah."_

"I could hug him right now," Sarah said, and the Rangers turned on the TV. It didn't matter what anyone said after that. Through Victor, their story had been told. That was all they really needed for right now. "Is it weird that I could actually hug Victor right now?"

"I guess I won't roll my eyes next time he says nothing happens at the school that he doesn't know about," Calvin nodded.

"Hopefully more people start coming out with a similar story to Victor's," Gia said, then turned to Kelly, "Like maybe you?"

"Me?"

"Victor's story might be accurate, but it's a lot of speculating," Gia said. "If you come out and talk about what happened, especially with that face, more people might start to believe Sarah wasn't at fault here. Not entirely, at least."

"I… I don't know," Kelly said.

"It's not bad," Sarah assured her. "Just be honest but… not too honest."

"I can drive you home. It'll look better if you look like you're still recovering," Shane suggested.

"I am still recovering."

"It'll look better if it looks like it," Gia agreed. "I'll try to get the media to track down Kelly. Make sure your dad knows to let someone in if they come for an interview."

"You sure it's a good idea for you to go out there?" Hayley asked. "Aren't you a known Ranger?"

"I'll be fine," Gia promised.


	20. A Monster's Attack

Kelly interview didn't do too much to change public opinion of the Rangers. It seemed that everyone was set in their ways. Those who hated the Rangers, hated them regardless of any new evidence that came up. The people who liked the Rangers, would always see them as heroes.

However, Kelly's interview did accomplish something. She corroborated Victor's story about Harley when she told the media about the beating and how he had tried to convince her to bring Sarah into the school. Even people who hated the Rangers had to agree that hadn't been a wise choice. At the very least, some of the Ranger haters were willing to put some of the blame on Harley.

After wrapping up the interview, Kelly and the other Rangers had a few days off from school. Since there had been an attack, and students and some teachers had been killed, as well as a couple of police officers, there needed to be an investigation. The school remained closed until the investigation was cleaned up, and then for a few days afterwards to allow students enough time to grieve their fallen classmates and teachers.

When school resumed, it wasn't the same hustle and bustle as usual. Everyone was rather quiet, and the Rangers had noticed no one seemed to be calling them out for being Sarah's friends. Grief counsellors were all over the hallways, helping the students who were still processing losing their friends. Serena had even taken a day away from homeschooling Sarah to help talk with some of the students.

Classes were light. It wasn't mandatory for the students to attend, if they remained in the cafeteria, so they could still be supervised. As a result, teachers weren't doing much teaching. Those who insisted on passing the time in an educational way were doing reviews of past lessons, while others were content to just let the students sit and take care of themselves.

In Ninja Ops, Sarah found herself with a day off. Normally, while her friends were at school, Serena would pop by for an hour or so to help Sarah keep up with lessons and homework that Mrs. Finch had prepared. Since Serena wouldn't be coming by, Sarah had a lot of time to kill. She offered to help Mick and RedBot with their work. They were working with some super Ninja Steel to forge new stars. This way, if the Rangers needed a new weapon, they would already have the stars available to them. Unfortunately, they couldn't forge a new Power Star for Sarah. Oedius still had a hold of hers, and the Rangers had agreed that it was too risky to go after it. They still had six stars in their possession. It wasn't worth losing them for the one.

"I am the face of the Rangers now," Sarah said, arguing her case for why, if Oedius did decide to send another monster, she should still join the battle. "If I don't show up, people are going to wonder where I am."

"One of the others can tell them you lost your star when the city arrested you," Mick said. "I'm sorry Sarah, but joining a battle without your powers is a ridiculous idea."

"But I can't just sit around," Sarah whined as she leaned back in her chair, spinning it from side to side out of boredom. "I can't go to school. I can't even leave the base. Now you're telling me I can't even save the world?"

"Between the monsters and the city still looking for you since Gia broke you out, it's too dangerous."

"What if I promise not to get caught and not to hit my head again?"

"Sarah…"

"What if you make up a permission form, and Shane signs it?" Sarah asked.

"Permission form?"

"Like school," Sarah said. "They have to get our parents' permission to do anything remotely dangerous… like leave school grounds. If Shane agrees to the risk, and I agree to it…"

"You're not leaving the base," Mick told her. "End of…"

He was interrupted as the alarm went off. He, Sarah and RedBot rushed to the monitor to see what was happening. In the park, a bee-like monster was buzzing around, striking random people with arrows. Sarah couldn't quite tell what happened when people were struck, but she didn't want to wait to find out. She brought her communicator to her mouth and called for the others.

" _Preston."_

"There's a bee in the park."

" _Are you that bored?"_ he chuckled. Sarah shook her head.

" _One of Oedius' monsters. You guys have to get down there and fast. A lot of people are getting hurt."_

"We're on it. We'll be there," he promised. Sarah lowered her arm and looked to Mick. By her calculations, even with their powers, the Rangers would still take ten minutes to get to the monster. She was firing off arrows left, right and center, and was either always hitting her target, or getting lucky enough to hit anyone with every shot. Either way, the bee was dangerous.

If Sarah left the base right now, she could make it to the park in five minutes. That would be half the time it would take the Rangers, and as a result, reduce the number of casualties significantly. Though Oedius already had her Power Star, Sarah was sure that she wouldn't mind finishing her off, just to be safe.

"Sarah…" Mick cautioned her, but Sarah shook her head, grabbed her hoverboard and raced out of the base. Just as she thought, she arrived at the park in five minutes. On her hoverboard, she flew past the people who were still trying to find a way to escape the bee. When the monster fired another arrow, Sarah was quick enough to catch it. She snapped it in half before landing.

Just as expected, once she arrived, all the monster's attention was on her. Everyone who couldn't escape before now had a clear path to run. However, they all decided to stay and watch. Sarah tried to call for them to go, but everyone wanted to see the Ranger in action, either in admiration, or to record her making a mistake and use the footage as another reason why the Rangers were bad.

"Kick her ass, Sarah!" someone called out.

"Don't blow the whole city up!" someone else shouted. Sarah rolled her eyes, then looked to the bee monster who landed.

"Where are the rest of your friends?" she asked.

"They're on their way," Sarah answered. "But you didn't think I'd let them have all the fun, did you?"

"If you call your own destruction fun," the monster said. "Madam Oedius gave me clear orders. Obtain all the Power Stars and kill any Ranger who stands in my way."

"Right, any Ranger," Sarah nodded. "So, leave these people alone."

"Gladly," the monster smiled as her wing began to flap and she rose into the air. She flew towards Sarah, but before she could land even a single hit, something hit her. She hit the ground, crying out in pain as she clutched her stomach.

As the others surrounded the monster, keeping her away from Sarah and the people watching, Kelly made her way over.

"What are you doing here?" she asked her girlfriend.

"Bee-thing over there was hurting people with those arrows. I couldn't just wait around the base."

"You have no powers," Kelly growled. "You're lucky we showed up when we did!"

A loud blast was heard and the girls turned to see their friends on the ground. They were okay, but it looked like they could use some help. Kelly looked to her girlfriend. "We'll talk about this later, alright? We're here now, just get somewhere safe."

Sarah nodded her head and as Kelly pulled out another grenade from her chair's weapon compartment, Sarah made her way to the crowd.

"You guys have to go," she told them. "It's not safe here, even with the Rangers."

"You should be in prison!" someone else.

"Dude, leave her alone! She's protecting our city!"

"Is the green Ranger your girlfriend?"

"What?" Sarah frowned and turned to where the last question had come from. It had been a concern since Kelly decided she wanted to continue being a Ranger in a wheelchair. The coincidence of Kelly needing a wheelchair at the same time the green Ranger suddenly appeared in one was too much to go unnoticed. Now that Sarah's identity was revealed, and everyone knew Kelly was her girlfriend, it was almost guaranteed someone would make the connection. Still, Sarah wanted to hide her friend's identities. If anything, because living in hiding sucked. "No!"

"So then why is she and your girlfriend both in a chair?"

Sarah pointed to the battlefield, where the Rangers were taking just as many hits as they were landing. In the short amount of time where she pointed to them, each of the Rangers hit the ground at least once, and needed a couple of minutes before they got up.

"This isn't exactly child's play," Sarah said. "If you don't leave a fight without a blood stain somewhere, you didn't fight hard enough."

"But your girlfriend."

"My girlfriend was in a bad accident," Sarah said. "And it's thanks to the green Ranger that she was able to return to school so quickly after her injury."

"So, Kelly knows the green Ranger, then?"

"I pull some strings and they met face to helmet," Sarah explained. She knew most people wouldn't believe it, but if she spoke confidently, it could at least cast enough doubt over their theories to keep the idea from blowing up.

Suddenly, Sarah heard one of her friends shout. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see a yellow arrow coming right for her and the crowd. Her friends were either on the ground, having been struck by a pink arrow, or too far to make it over in time. Sarah yelled for everyone to run and seeing danger coming towards them, most people did. However, there was one little boy, who had been glued to his father's side while he stayed to protest the Rangers, who didn't run. In the panic, he had been separated from his father and now lost. Sarah saw him and saw that while the arrow wouldn't hit him, it would land near him. She still had no idea what the arrows did, or if the colours meant anything, but she didn't want to take the chance that the boy would be fine. She rushed to him and covered him with her body just as the arrow hit the ground.

Sarah had been in bigger explosions, the last one having killed her parents and left her in the hospital to recover for weeks. This one didn't compare, but it was still big enough. Without her Ranger suit to protect her, the force of the explosion easily knocked her off her feet, and the heat burned her back. Sarah hit the ground, with the boy still in her arms. She muffled her cry of pain until she checked to see the boy was okay.

He was visibly shaken, but there were no signs of injuries. Sarah had put herself between him and the explosion.

"Mateo!" his father yelled and ripped his son from Sarah's arms. AS his son clung to him for safety, the father glared down at Sarah. "You almost got my boy killed!"

"Is he okay?" Sarah asked. She wanted to be sure. She hadn't seen injuries on him, but she needed to make sure.

"That monster was shooting at you!" Mateo's father shouted. "You Rangers are nothing but trouble!"

He stormed off with his boy in his hand. Sarah pushed herself up to her feet, then glanced over her shoulder to look down at her back. As she did this, Preston rushed over.

"Are you okay?" he asked and put his arm around her to help steady her. Sarah nodded her head.

"I'll be fine. I've survived worse. The kid…"

"He looked fine," Preston assured her. "His dad will look after him. You need to go back to the base."

"But the others…"

"They'll be fine," Preston insisted, and Sarah didn't have much of a choice as he took her away.

As Preston helped her off, and the other Rangers continued to hold off the monster, one man, who had stayed hidden, shut off the camera on his phone and smirked as he quickly scanned over the footage.

"Perfect," he smiled when she saw he got exactly what he needed. He tucked his phone away as the monster cried out to the Rangers.

"You'll regret crossing paths with Venoma!" she shouted. "I'll get those Power Stars! I promise that!"

He watched the monster flee, then looked to the remaining Rangers. He wasn't sure what they were doing, but it seemed there were a lot of hugs going around. Some a little more welcomed than others.

"Get off!" Green protested as she pushed the yellow Ranger off her. "Seriously, what's gotten into you."

"I can't help it," Yellow said. "You're just… beautiful."

"Let's go!" White insisted as she grabbed him and the Red Ranger, while Gold followed behind her like a puppy.

"I hate spells," Green muttered as she trailed behind.

"Don't we all," the man agreed.


	21. A Smart Move?

"I'll get the bubble wrap," Gia said as Preston set Sarah down on the couch. He didn't have to lift her shirt to see the burn on her back looked bad. Most of her shirt had been burned through, leaving little of it left and exposing her skin directly to the heat during the attack. He knew his best friend had done the right thing, protecting the boy, and he knew Sarah was right to show up to the battle. She had been closer to the scene that the others, and Venoma, unlike most other monsters, had decided to pass the time by physically attacking people, not just scaring them off. No deaths had been recorded yet, and Preston was sure that wouldn't change, but there were people who had been injured. By arriving early, Sarah had helped to keep the numbers down.

Still, he wished she hadn't come. She didn't have her Power Star and so was vulnerable to all attacks. He knew she was lucky that it hadn't been worse.

"Bubble wrap?" Sarah asked. "At least I can still walk."

Gia looked to the brace on her leg. She was still recovering from Oedius' attack and needed her crutches to get around. It hadn't slowed her down at all, but she couldn't call on her powers if they were needed. Though Sarah would be in a lot of pain, at least she could still fight.

"Point taken."

"I'll clean you up," Preston said. "But it's going to hurt."

"That's fine," Sarah nodded. Preston grabbed the first aid kit, taking out what he needed. As he did, he looked over to Sarah.

"You shouldn't have been out there."

"If I didn't go, people would have asked where I was," Sarah told him.

"You lost your powers."

"And we're trying to prove to people we're here to protect them."

"As Rangers."

"Our reputation isn't more important than our lives," Preston reminded her. "Sarah, you're lucky this didn't end worse, especially with your head. I'd rather do damage control than bury you."

"I saved that boy."

"Yeah… but…" Preston trailed off, unsure if he should say what was on his mind. He hoped that cleaning out Sarah's wound would be enough of a distraction when he heard her hiss painfully, but it wasn't.

"But…"

"But… the monster did shoot at the crowd because you were there. That boy wouldn't have been in danger if…"

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah asked. She turned her back to Preston, so she could face him, forcing him to stop caring for her burns. "When I got there, she was shooting at everyone and anyone! That boy could have been hurt worse if it wasn't for me!"

"No… I know, but…"

"And I left when you arrived. I didn't fight Venoma myself when you were there."

"But you stayed."

"I wasn't about to let people hang around the monster and get hurt."

"But you did," Preston said. He could see Sarah was getting worked up, though he hadn't meant to offend her. He only wanted to keep her safe. "Look, Sarah, I…"

"We have a weird situation!" Kelly called out as she and the other Rangers returned to the base from the fight. She led the way, followed by Calvin, then Hayley with Brody and Levi.

"I'll say," Preston muttered. He looked to his friends. At first glance, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. They all looked well, fortunately. However, the longer he watched them, the more he noticed that something did seem off. Normally, after a fight, Calvin and Hayley were all over each other, making sure the other was okay. Especially after a difficult battle, it could leave everyone else feeling a bit awkward to be in the same room. Today, though, that wasn't the case. Hayley couldn't be bothered with Calvin because she was so busy with the brothers, while Calvin kept insisting on checking out Kelly. "What's with them?"

"Yellow arrows are bombs. Pink arrows are cupid arrows," Hayley said.

"We think blue are just regular arrows with a monster-kick," Kelly added.

"Are you sure you're okay, my sweet?" Calvin asked her. Preston frowned deeply hearing this. While Calvin and Hayley were always holding each other in some way, and sometimes did like to use pet names, Calvin seemed to be going over the top. His hands started to massage Kelly's shoulders and he sounded completely head over the heels for the green Ranger.

"Cupid arrows, huh?" Sarah asked as she watched the yellow Ranger touch her girlfriend.

"Calvin's in love with me and the Romero boys are in love with Hayley," Kelly explained.

"Calvin's in love with you?" Preston chuckled. Sarah wasn't as amused. Though she knew Calvin couldn't help it if he was under a spell, she still made her way between him and her girlfriend and smacked his hands away from her shoulders.

"Ow!"

"Mine," Sarah warned him.

"He doesn't understand the whole lesbian concept," Kelly nodded.

"They don't care for anything but their feelings," Hayley said. She gave Brody and Levi a dangerous look after insisting she was fine and didn't need them to look after her. "We're lucky Venoma took off when she did. It's a major distraction."

"They can't fight?" Sarah asked.

"Technically they can, I guess," Hayley nodded. "They would just rather…"

"I saw her first!" Levi said as he pushed his brother to the side. Brody looked angry.

"Technically, I saw her first!"

"Yeah, well, I love her more."

"I love her more, and I'll prove it!" Brody turned to Hayley. "You stay right there, my love. I'll be right back with a special gift, just for you!"

Brody started to Levi the base, but Levi grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back.

"No, I'll get you a _very_ special gift!"

"It won't be better than mine!"

"I don't think it's a good idea if you go anywhere," Sarah told them. "How about you stay and make Hayley a gift. From the heart?"

"Make her something?" Levi asked, stroking his chin. He gave a little nod. "I have the perfect idea!"

"I do too!" Brody said. While Levi rushed over to his guitar in the corner of the room, Brody went to Mick. He pushed his mentor aside and took some of the scrap pieces of super Ninja Steel.

"Uh…"

"I just need to borrow this," Brody insisted. Mick looked to the others. Sarah shrugged.

"It'll keep him busy. As long as, he doesn't throw it into the Prism, we can always reuse it."

Mick nodded. It was better than the boys leaving when they clearly weren't in the right mind to look after themselves.

"Oh man, this is good," Gia chuckled from the kitchen table. She had been watching the whole thing, not bothering to interfere because there was nothing she could do anyway. "I have to tell Serena about this."

"Why do neither of you off to help when we're in trouble?" Hayley asked.

"We already did the monster spell thing," Gia shrugged. "Your turn to figure it out."

"Kelly," Calvin said with a loving smile. "Do you want me to make you a special gift."

"I like girls," Kelly insisted, but Calvin's smile only brightened.

"Me too! We have so much in common!"

"That's the only thing we have in common!" Kelly cried out, then rolled her eyes and looked to her friends.

"Isn't she adorable when she's mad?" Calvin asked them, still smiling lovingly. "Don't worry, baby. Your gift will be so perfect, it'll make Hayley jealous!"

"Whatever," Kelly rolled her eyes as Calvin rushed over to the worktable to get started on his present.

"Hayley's probably already jealous," Preston said with a chuckle, but the white Ranger responded with a shrug. Preston frowned. "Really? Not even a little bit?"

"He's hitting on a lesbian. It's not like it'll go anywhere," Hayley said. "Besides, it's just a spell. It's not like he actually has feelings for Kelly."

"He doesn't have to lay it on so thick," Sarah muttered. At that point, Kelly looked up at her.

"Though, speaking of girlfriends, I want to know why mine decided to show up to the battlefield."

"I already explained this to Preston. I could get there first and…"

"You could have been killed," Kelly said. "If Venoma's arrow had hit you."

"I'm fine!"

"You're bleeding through your shirt!" Kelly said and pointed to a red stain at the top of Sarah's shoulder. Sarah looked down at it, then back to her girlfriend.

"Okay, technically there's so little left of my shirt that I'm not actually bleeding through it…"

"Don't try to defend yourself, kid," Gia shook her head. "Trust me, when your friends are mad at you, nothing's going to change their mind."

"They are right, though," Mick added. He had been kicked away from the worktable by Brody and Calvin as they worked so had nothing to do. "You shouldn't have gone out there."

"But Mick…"

"Sarah, you lost your Power Star. If Venoma's aim had been a little better, or if your friends were late, this could have ended a lot worse."

"So, now that I'm a known Ranger, but don't have my powers, I'm supposed to just sit back and let people get hurt?"

"No, but…"

"I'm trying to convince people that I'm looking out for their best interests. I want them to know that the Rangers and I are good people, with or without our powers. I can't do that if I don't show up to keep them safe."

"But that's not what you're doing," RedBot announced as he turned on the TV. "You're going to want to watch this."

Hayley, Kelly, Preston and Sarah recognized the man being interviewed by a reported as the father of the boy Sarah saved. They listened as he went on talking about the battle – how Sarah showed up to the fight and how that resulted in his son being in harm's way.

" _She put my little boy in danger,"_ the man said. _"Powers or no, these Rangers are trouble! They don't care about us, or our safety."_

"Ignore the fact that, instead of running when you had a chance, you stayed at the fight to tell me that," Sarah muttered. She looked to her friends. "If he had taken off as soon as I showed up, or when I told everyone to run, Venoma would have shot that arrow and I would have been the only target!"

"That's not how everyone sees it," RedBot said.

"That's what happened!" Sarah grabbed her head in frustration, then saw the garbage can and kicked it over with a yell. "God, I hate this!"

"Sarah…" Kelly said.

"No matter what I do, I'm the bad guy!" Sarah shouted. "We have literal monsters running around, and I'm the one the city thinks is dangerous? I even show up to protect them after I lose my powers, nearly died protecting a kid whose father left him in harm's way, and I'm still the bad guy?"

"Sarah, calm down…"

"Meanwhile, I'm stuck living in Ninja Ops, right after my whole life gets turned around? It's not fair!"

"Sarah!"

"It's… it's not…" Sarah's yelling stopped as the room started to spin for a moment. She couldn't find a way to steady herself but fortunately Preston was quickly by her side. He grabbed her and held her steady as Kelly continued to call Sarah's name, but there was no response.

"Seizure?" Gia asked. Hayley nodded her head.

"Looks like."

As Kelly and Preston concerned themselves with Sarah, waiting for her to come to again so they could be sure she was okay, Gia got to her feet to talk with the others.

"We should work on a way to get the pink Star back," she said. "Then we don't have to worry about this."

"Oedius has it," Hayley shook her head. "And if she's proven anything, it's that we don't want to take her on when we're short even a single Ranger."

"She has a nasty habit of winning," Kelly muttered.

"She is tough," Gia conceded. She couldn't really argue that point while she was still sporting a brace from her previous encounter with Oedius. "But we have to do something. Sarah's right. People are criticizing her no matter what she does. At least with powers, she can keep them safe without worrying too much about injury."

"Or death."

"What if we had something that could help change public opinion?" a new voice asked. Hayley, Mick, RedBot and Gia all turned to the door, but Gi was the only one to smile as she recognized the man standing before her.

"Dr. Oliver."

"It's been a while," Tommy smiled, seeing his former student. "Miss me?"

"Not really," Gia shrugged her shoulders. That was when she noticed the confused looks coming from the others. She gestured to Tommy. "Ninjas, meet Dr. Oliver. He's… well, legendary."

"Dr. Oliver?"

"Never heard of him," Mick shook his head.

"Legendary in the Ranger world," Gia chuckled. "He was green, white, red and black."

"You were all those colours?" Hayley asked him, and Tommy nodded.

"It's a bit of a long story, which we don't have time for right now," Tommy said as he held up his phone. "What if, instead, I told you about footage that just might change enough people's mind to sway public opinion?"


	22. Battle Footage and Romeos

The advantage to Venoma's spell was that it wasn't necessarily harmful. Calvin, Levi and Brody weren't suffering from the effects of the love arrows. There was no need to pull out the first aid kid, or rush out to the hospital.

The disadvantage was that they were completely and utterly infatuated with the first person they saw. As a result, the boys were madly in love with Hayley and Kelly, and there was nothing that could be done to distract them from their feelings. Even saving the world came second to proving their love.

Fortunately, they had simple projects that would keep them busy and out of the way of the remaining Rangers. Brody was crafting a heart shaped Power Star for Hayley, and since it needed to be forged perfectly to work, it was going to take him time to hammer out the details and make all the right cuts. A regular Power Star could take hours to make. A heart shaped one would at least take just as long.

Levi was working on writing a song to Hayley that would express his undying love for her. Since he also wanted the song to be perfect, he was busy finding the exact right words and the exact right sound. No one was sure how long it took him to finish a song usually, but they could only imagine he would be on the job for a few hours, at least.

As for Calvin, no one was quite sure what he was making, or why it was taking him so long. He had a yellow, toy dump truck that he was filling with flowers. The job seemed rather simple to everyone else, but Calvin was taking his time.

Mick and RedBot were keeping their eyes on the "Romeos", as the others called them. Though the three boys were completely engaged in their activities, no one wanted to risk that they would suddenly find a reason to wander off, or finish up their activity and distract the other Rangers from working.

While the boys worked on their projects, Hayley, Preston, Sarah and Kelly sat on the couch with Gia and Tommy, discussing the footage that the former Ranger had brought for them.

Tommy had explained that he had come to Summer Cove shortly after hearing about the Ranger drama. By now, everyone knew about Sarah's identity being revealed, and while that wasn't a huge concern, the reaction from the public had many Rangers, including Tommy, worried. To help, he made his way to Summer Cove. He hadn't been sure what he would do, but he knew he could figure it out a little better once he was in the city.

Fortunately, his solution had landed in his lap. Sarah had lost her Power Star, and while that was common knowledge, it seemed the people of Summer Cove were still expecting her to perform her Ranger duties. Tommy, being a Ranger himself, knew Sarah was likely to be somewhere on the battlefield the next time a monster showed up, so he made sure he was there too.

Without planning it out, Tommy got what he believed was the perfect footage. Sarah was present on the battlefield in an obvious way. She showed up, using her position as a Ranger to distract the monster from harming any civilians. Even without her powers, she stood up to Venoma. Once the other Rangers showed up, Sarah still didn't leave the scene. She didn't flee, hoping everyone would be okay. She stayed. Tommy had footage of Sarah asking people to leave, warning them it wasn't safe to stay. He had footage of people ignoring Sarah, preferring their questions answered instead of keeping themselves and their loved ones safe.

He had footage of one of the Rangers calling out to Sarah about the incoming attack. On the video, Sarah was seen yelling for people to run, and then helping to protect the one little boy who couldn't get himself away on his own.

Without her powers, without any way to protect herself, Sarah grabbed the little boy and positioned herself so that she would be the one to be hit by the blast. Tommy's footage showed the explosion, and gave anyone who watched it enough of a look at the burn it left on Sarah's back.

Still, Sarah clung to the little boy until she knew he was safe, until he was ripped from her arms by his father, who then accused Sarah of endangering the life of her son. Even with those accusations, Tommy's video showed Sarah asking after the little boy, checking once again to be sure he was alright. Even when the blue Ranger made his way over to help her, Sarah's concern was still with the boy.

After watching the footage, Kelly couldn't be prouder of her girlfriend. While she had initially been upset that Sarah showed up to the fight at all, this footage reminded her of all the reasons she loved Sarah, and all the reasons the pink Ranger, and all the Rangers, had been chosen by the Nexus Prism.

"Do you really think that'll work?" Gia asked. She was convinced, but she knew she was a little biased. She wanted the Rangers to be painted in a good light, and she already knew the word the Rangers did to keep the city safe.

"I can't promise everyone is going to change their minds," Tommy said. "But we have evidence that the Rangers aren't just over powered kids. Even without any powers to speak of, Sarah still did her duties."

"If we release this, though, people are going to think it's staged or something," Hayley said.

"So, the Rangers don't release it," Tommy shrugged. "We have a number of allies who are willing to help us. People who are better known to the city as trustworthy."

"Who?"

"Your boss?" Tommy said with a smirk.

"The guy who works with Power Rangers. Not to mention, a former Rangers."

"The city doesn't know that," Tommy shook his head. "Wes is just regular people to them. A regular person who is risking his life day by day to keep his city safe."

"So, you want me to ask Wes to release a tape, hoping that the city will believe him when he says it's raw, unedited, unscripted footage?"

"Wes is a good friend of mine," Tommy shook his head. "I can ask him myself. I'm here to ask for permission to release it."

"Permission?" Kelly frowned. Tommy nodded, then looked to Gia and Kelly.

"All the other Rangers whose identity is public have already approved this release. I've already asked the Space, Lightspeed, and Overdrive Rangers, and they agree this might work. I just need you two."

"Why?" Gia questioned.

"I have nothing to lose," Tommy told her. "No one knows I'm a Power Ranger. My day-to-day life hasn't been altered by the reveal, or by the way people view the Rangers. I can blend in."

"Do you think it could hurt us?" Sarah asked. "Is that why you want permission?"

"This is a Ranger in action," Tommy said. "And like everything else we've revealed so far, this is open to interpretation. I'm sure most people will see this footage the same way I did, but just in case I'm wrong, I want to be sure you're okay with people seeing this."

"I…" Sarah hesitated and looked to Gia. So far, she had done the interview and made a couple of public appearances and nothing had really changed for her. People either absolutely loved her, or absolutely hated her. She wasn't sure this video could be what changed anyone's minds.

However, it was the truth of their day-to-day life – just uncovered. Even in the spandex, the Rangers all took great risks to keep the city safe. Sarah and her friends were all sporting various injuries, and they all had some permanent scars that would forever remind them of their work. It didn't matter if they were wearing a mask or not, they were Rangers.

Perhaps, seeing a Ranger fight without the mask, without protection, would be what people needed. But, could it hurt? If people did think this was scripted, even if it was released from a reliable source, could they use this video as a claim that the Rangers were being manipulative? Deceitful?

"We have nothing to hide," Gia answered. "Show it."

Tommy nodded, hearing Gia's answer, then looked to Sarah. "If you aren't comfortable with this, I won't release it. You're the one in the video. It's your answer that matters most."

Sarah heard Gia's answer, but she still wasn't sure until she glanced to Kelly. The green Ranger's smile from seeing her girlfriend as a hero hadn't yet faded. While Sarah knew she would always have Kelly's support, knowing this video had reminded her of the good Sarah, and the Rangers, did, Sarah had to believe that this video would be exactly what was needed.

"Do it."

Tommy nodded, promised the Rangers he would let them know when the footage was being released, and then glanced across the room at the three "Romeo's".

"Uh… I think your red is about to throw a sharp piece of metal at that Ninja Star. Should he be doing that?"

"Brody, no!" Hayley shouted and jumped up from the couch to stop Brody before he could throw his heart-shaped Ninja Steel into the Prism. She took the ninja steel from his hand with a smile. "It's beautiful how it is. I love it."

"You do?" Brody asked and Hayley nodded her head.

"Of course. You made it."

"Then you have to hear my song," Levi said as he rushed over, pushing Brody aside so he could get Hayley's attention. "It's a much better present than a chuck of metal."

As Levi started to strum his guitar, and tried to keep Brody from distracting him or Hayley, Calvin made his way over to Kelly and offered her his toy dump truck with the flowers.

"This is for you."

"Oh?" Kelly asked and looked to the gift, a little uncertain. "It's… uh… beautiful."

"Hey, Romeo," Sarah said to him with a frown. "Back off. She's taken."

"Oh yeah?" Calvin challenged her. "What have you made for the most beautiful woman on Earth?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that!" Hayley called out.

Sarah gestured to Kelly's chair, "I've upgraded her wheelchair and her Ranger suit to give her extra mobility and firepower while on the battlefield. She's got far more independence and power now than she did before my gift."

"Does it come with flowers?" Calvin asked as he pointed to the bouquet in his truck. Sarah looked to the small arrangement, stifling a laugh.

"You're right, Romeo. I gave her independence and powers, but it didn't come with flowers!"

"Ha!" Calvin smirked and stuck out his tongue. Hayley, who finally managed to convince Levi and Brody that she loved both their gifts equally, prompting them to come up with new ideas to top the other, walked back to the couches and sat down. Kelly pointed to Calvin's gift with a sigh.

"Is he always this _romantic_?"

Hayley chuckled, "He's more of an action man."

"Whoa. Too much information, Hayl," Sarah said. Hayley realized how her answer could have been interpreted and shook her head.

"I didn't mean that! I meant… like, thoughtful and sincere and…"

"La, la, la, la." Kelly and Sarah covered their ears and turned away from the white Ranger.

Tommy, seeing this, looked to Gia. "This is the team you're guiding?"

Gia shook her head as she watched the young Ninjas. She had to admit, this wasn't their finest hour. Still, despite everything going on, they were still close, they were still strong, and they were still able to have a little fun. So, even though it was a little embarrassing to present them as her proteges to Tommy Oliver, the Ranger Legend, she would proudly accepted them as her team.

"Serena does spend more time with them."

Or… not.


	23. A Troublesome Phone Call

Mick had to admire how the Rangers were dealing with the "Romeo" situation. While love was no stranger between the Rangers, Venoma had managed to make Calvin, Levi and Brody fall in love with girls they didn't love. Calvin was head over heels for Kelly, and constantly found new ways to call her beautiful, amazing, and his favourite person on the planet. Mick had been sure that hearing this might cause Hayley to feel jealous, and maybe act on those feelings of jealousy, but the white Ranger managed to stay calm. Mick did hear her occasionally remind herself that it was a spell, and Calvin didn't feel that way for Kelly. Still, Hayley managed to keep calm and even laugh about all the attention Calvin was giving to Kelly.

Sarah managed to keep calm as well. While she liked to make comments to Calvin about Kelly being her girlfriend, she was having a bit of fun with the yellow Ranger's feelings. Like Hayley, she knew they weren't genuine and that once the spell wore off, so would his advances.

At the same time, Brody and Levi were fighting for Hayley's affection. Though they were under a spell, they were also keeping things civil. They would occasional fight, but it was nothing more than brothers would usually do. Their banter and need for Hayley's attention did bother her, but Hayley was also good at fending them off and keeping them busy.

"I wish I handled it this well when I found out I kissed my sister," Gia commented to Mick as she watched the Rangers from the kitchen table. Mick had prepared dinner for everyone. The ninjas had already eaten so Mick, Gia, and Serena who had joined them that afternoon, were taking their turn to eat.

Mick, hearing Gia's comment, turned to her with a look of surprise. Then he noticed Serena didn't seem as shocked.

"I wish my team handled it this well when Dekker and I were in love."

"Wasn't Dekker a monster?" Mick asked. He didn't claim to know much about Rangers. There wasn't really time to learn about them while he was a slave for Galvanax, but he could remember hearing Serena mentioning a monster by the name of Dekker before.

Once again, he seemed shocked by the comment, but Gia simply nodded her head.

"You know, I wish _I_ had handled it this well when Levira fell in love with Jake."

"Wait, a monster fell in love with a Ranger?" Mick asked.

"I wish we all handled it half as well as this when we found out Mike and Mia had sex."

Mick, by this point, was completely shocked. However, he took some comfort in seeing that, upon hearing this last comment, Gia looked a little surprised too.

"You never told me that story," she said.

"I didn't? I was sure I had. Anyway, trust me when I say, no one handled that one well."

"Were these all spells?" Mick finally asked.

"Not the Dekker one," Gia said and gave Serena a teasing looked. Serena groaned loudly.

"Oh my god, I sleep with one psychotic, murdering mad man and no one lets me forget it."

"You had his child," Gia reminded her.

"Okay, yes, but Terran takes after _my_ side of the family. You know, he's actually a lot like Emily."

"I know," Gia nodded with a smile. "Kind of funny how sweet and perfect he is considering he's born from pure evil."

"Dekker wasn't that bad," Serena said but Gia continued to look at her. "All the time. He wasn't that bad all the time."

Gia's stares didn't stop, "Fine, there were moments, however brief, where he wasn't terrible."

"You know, Emma's crush on RICO is still less weird than you and Dekker."

"At least Dekker was half human, and I'm telling her you called it a crush."

"Oh god, please don't," Gia said, her eyes wide in fear. This was probably the first time Mick saw her look even a little scared. It would have been a moment to remember, if he wasn't completely shocked and a little in awe at the conversation he was listening to. "I'm already in so much trouble for breaking Sarah out of jail and making myself a wanted criminal in the process."

"Ha-ha," Serena smirked.

"At least I didn't sleep with a Nighlok."

"Half-Nighlok and… whatever," Serena rolled her eyes. Mick finally gave up on trying to understand the conversation and sighed. He figured changing the topic might help.

"When do you think Tommy's going to release the video?"

The girls shrugged. "If we do it too soon, it might look to eager," Serena said. "Like we were just waiting for something like this to happen. It could make it look staged."

"Waiting a little bit might give the appearance that the footage was found," Gia agreed.

"Could also make it seem like we took the time to edit it," Serena pointed out, and Gia nodded her head.

"It could. I guess we just have to trust that Tommy knows what he's doing."

The sound of a phone ringing interrupted the conversation between Serena, Gia and Mick, and stopped the scene happening between the Romeos and their Juliets. Sarah realized it was her phone ringing. She checked the number, only to see it wasn't one she recognized. Usually she would ignore callers who weren't registered in her phone, as they were usually just people trying to sell her something, but this time, she had a feeling she should answer it.

"Hello?"

" _Sarah?"_ the voice on the other end whispered and if Sarah was right, it sounded like the person was terrified. She also felt like she recognized the voice.

"Victor? How do you have my number?"

" _I'm president."_

"I never gave you my number."

" _I can explain how I looked into student files later,"_ Victor told her. _"You have to come to the school. Quick!"_ He was still whispering, as if he didn't want to be heard by anyone else on his end. Sarah wanted to wonder why, but she was more distracted by a bigger question: was this a set up? The last time she had gone to meet a classmate at school, she had gotten arrested and some of her classmates, her teachers, and police officers lost their lives. While she knew she wasn't really at fault for that, she didn't want a repeat.

However, this was Victor – one of the only people who would publicly claim that Harley was responsible for that mess. One of the only people who would publicly claim that he supported the Rangers. Why would he do that, risk his beloved reputation, and then set her up. Not to mention, Victor was so full of confidence, it pretty much oozed out of his pores. It seemed he couldn't do anything to embarrass or humiliate himself, even when he should have been. Sarah had to wonder why someone that confident might be whispering in fear.

"What's happening?" she asked.

" _Harley's back. He's pissed and he's looking for Kelly."_

"Kelly's not at school," Sarah shook her head and quickly recalled the cover story they made. "She's at home resting after the beating he gave her."

" _Then come here and tell him that, because he hasn't believed anyone yet."_

"Victor, I'm sure this will…" Sarah stopped when she heard something. She didn't want to believe it at first, but it sounded a lot like a gun firing. When she heard it again, her face went white. "Victor…"

" _Please, please come,"_ he begged her.

"I'll figure this out," Sarah promised him. "Just stay where you are and don't do anything stupid."

Sarah hung up. She knew it would leave Victor feeling panicked, but she needed to figure out what to do. Victor had called for her, and while she wasn't sure what she had heard, she couldn't really doubt what it sounded like.

"Harley's at the school."

"He's been expelled," Hayley frowned.

"I don't think he cares," Sarah answered. "He's looking for Kelly."

"Me?" Kelly pointed to herself. "I'm at home. In bed. Resting. He beat me up!"

"He seems to think you're back."

"So… why is someone telling you this?" Preston asked the pink Ranger. This was where Sarah winced.

"I think he's got a gun."

"What?" whether they had been listening previously or not, all eyes and ears turned to Sarah. The pink Ranger winced again.

"Victor wants me to come to school."

"No," Kelly shook her head. "No way! What are you going to do if he does have a gun? Oedius still has your star."

"We should go," Hayley pointed to herself, Kelly and Preston. Sarah immediately shook her head. She looked to Kelly.

"Harley's looking for you! If he has a gun…"

"If I'm the green Ranger, he won't know it's me."

"People are already asking me about you! You don't think they'll put the pieces together? You _and_ the green Ranger need a wheelchair at the same time?"

"I…"

"I'm not risking it," Sarah shook her head. "You're staying here."

"Agreed," Hayley nodded. "Besides, you're supposed to be recovering."

"Preston…"

"They're right," Preston said to Kelly. He knew it made some sense for her to go as the green Ranger. While the speculation was true, it still wasn't confirmed that Kelly was the green Ranger. However, Harley had already gone to very troublesome lengths just to get Sarah arrested. Preston couldn't put it past the football player to want to believe the speculation and shoot at the green Ranger regardless of whether it was true or not. "You should probably stay."

"Probably?" Calvin asked. "Definitely!"

"Oh god," Kelly rolled her eyes.

"If someone's shooting the school, we're not going anywhere," Calvin told her, then wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry, honey. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Brody and Levi weren't going to let Calvin steal all the chivalry as they rushed over to Hayley.

"If you're going, I'm going too," Levi said. Brody squeezed between the gold and white Ranger.

"I think I can do a better job protecting her. You know, since I love her more."

"Okay, none of you are going to the school," Gia decided for Levi, Brody, Calvin, Hayley and Kelly. The risk was too high for them. It sounded like Kelly was Harley's target, so it was best she didn't show up. And it seemed the boys would follow their respective crushes into the school to keep them safe. While their love for the wrong girl didn't impact their ability to fight, the boys had already shown that nothing mattered more than proving their love. Gia could already see one of the boys becoming reckless and taking an unnecessary punch, or even bullet, to protect the girls they loved.

For their safety, and so the team who went to the school could focus, none of them could go.

"Neither should you," Serena said to Gia.

"I'm a Silver Guardian. This is literally my job."

"You're technically not back on duty, and as much as I would love to see you take down a criminal with one leg, I'd hate to see you in the hospital again," Serena pointed out. "Not to mention, you have a daughter at home…"

"Fine, but I'm calling Rebecca," Gia said and quickly took out her phone. Serena nodded her head, then looked to Sarah and Preston.

"It's us three," she said.

"Three?" Kelly asked with a deep frown. "By three, you better mean you, Mick and Preston, because Sarah isn't going."

"Victor called me."

"And you're sending in Rangers. You're helping enough," Kelly said.

"Borrow my vest," Gia said and pointed to the bag she had brought with her to Ninja Ops. Sarah rushed over to it, taking Gia's bullet proof vest from the bag and strapping it on. Kelly looked to it, then to Gia.

"It doesn't protect her head."

"Doesn't protect mine either."

"I'll be fine," Sarah promised her girlfriend, then hurried out with Preston and Serena, grateful that Ninja Ops had been designed with a door taking them straight to the school.

"Getting shot still hurts like a bitch, F.Y.I!" Gia called out to Sarah, then looked to the Rangers who stayed behind. "You know, so she knows to still avoid taking a bullet."

"Have you actually been shot wearing that?" Hayley asked.

"That one specifically?" Gia asked. "No."

"But you've been shot at?" Calvin asked.

"Shot at? A lot, yes."

"Have you been shot?"

"Well, let's just say, I know it's hurts like a bitch to get shot in the vest," Gia answered. "And I know that's not quite as bad as actually being shot."

"So yes?" Kelly asked worriedly.

"But I've never been shot while wearing _that_ vest," Gia said.


	24. Shots Fired

The school was eerily quiet. It was after regular hours, so most of the students had gone home, but there were clubs and after school programs taking place, meaning the halls and the rooms weren't completely empty, and there were always some teachers who liked to stay late to get some extra work done.

Serena, Preston and Sarah arrived from Ninja Ops to shop class. There was no one inside, mostly because Mick wasn't around to supervise students. Fortunately, the Rangers' secret entrance to Ninja Ops could remain a secret.

"You stay behind us," Preston told Sarah. "If he does have a gun, there's no guarantee he won't try to shoot at you."

Sarah nodded her head. She was sure Preston was right. Harley hadn't been too happy when he got in trouble with Principal Hastings after teasing Kelly. If he could escalate from simply dumping her out of her chair and running off with it, to ripping her from her chair, dragging her down to the locker room and beating her unconscious over a little talking to, there was no telling what he could escalate to after being expelled.

If he was seeking revenge on Kelly for getting him in trouble, he surely wouldn't hold back firing at Sarah. Especially when he could take advantage of the fact that Sarah couldn't morph and couldn't protect herself more than a regular person.

So, she agreed to Preston's terms and let Serena lead the way while Preston stayed behind her, keeping watch.

"If he's looking for Kelly, he'll probably be wandering the halls," Sarah said to her teammates. "Should we empty the classrooms?"

"Keep everyone inside," Serena shook her head. "The less people we have moving through the school, the better."

Preston glanced inside the classrooms as they walked by. He wanted to help his classmates trapped inside, but he had to agree with Serena. Keeping everyone in one place was better for tracking down Harley.

"What's our plan?" he asked. "Once we do find him?"

"Take away his gun?"

"Talk him down," Serena said. "Get him to give it up, if it's possible."

"And if he just shoots?" Preston asked. "He's not exactly on our side."

"That's what the spandex is for," Serena reminded him. "Though, not getting shot is our goal for today."

Preston nodded. HE had to agree. His Ranger suit had saved him quite a bit, but so far he never had to take a bullet. While he was sure it wouldn't be life threatening, he didn't plan on finding out if the bullet would just bounce off him, or if his suit would absorb most of the impact, like Sarah's vest.

Not getting shot would be his goal.

Suddenly, the Rangers heard a gunshot, confirming what they already assumed, and then some kids screaming. There were footsteps racing down the hall, and the Rangers could tell that the crowd of students were coming their way.

More gunshots and more screams could be heard as the students rushed by. Preston, Sarah and Serena did they best to help the crowd get through, but in their panic, students were pushing and shoving, thinking only of getting out of the school. Preston found himself torn away from Sarah and Serena and pushed down the hallway. He was surprised by how easily the crowd of people could carry him off. By the time they were gone, he was around the corner.

He could only hope that Serena and Sarah found a way to stick together. He turned the corner, finding his way back to his friends, but stopped halfway there when, at the other end of the hall, Harley appeared.

Preston had seen blasters, bombs, swords and knives. He had fought in giant Zords and taken a good punch or two. He had seen blood and he had seen someone die. Somehow, despite all that, the gun seemed to scare him most. Maybe it was because he didn't know what to do. Harley was a threat, but he wasn't a monster. Using Ranger Powers could be excessive, especially to students who didn't want him to be in the school in the first place.

Maybe it was because he knew the damage a gun could do. With a single pull of a trigger, it could end a life.

Maybe it was because the gun was held by a teenager – someone his age, someone with no experience with a gun. Summer Cove was generally a safe city, with a low-crime rate and even lower murder rate. He knew people liked to have guns around to be safe. He knew some people were trained on how to use a gun.

He knew Harley wasn't one of those people.

Gia had a gun. Preston had never seen her use it in action, but she did carry it with her quite a bit. Since she was always on duty, it made sense. Preston had also seen her train with it. Gia knew what she was doing when she carried a weapon and she knew how to keep herself and the people around her safe.

If it was possible, Harley was doing the complete opposite. He didn't care to hold the gun safely. He didn't care that by holding it up and pointing it at someone, he risked accidentally firing it. He didn't care that his hands weren't steady, making it more likely for him to miss his target and potentially injure someone he didn't care to injure, including himself.

Preston was used to facing skilled opponents. Sure, Harley wanted to kill him, just like any monster would, but unlike the monsters, Harley wasn't sure how to do it. He just knew what he wanted.

Perhaps that was more dangerous.

Preston stood very still as Harley walked slowly down the hall. They had seen each other, and Harley had also seen Serena and Sarah. The white and pink Rangers were together, but they were standing on opposite sides of the hall. Serena couldn't cover Sarah. Preston gulped.

"Where is she?" Harley asked. He pointed the gun to Sarah first, but then noticed a slight shift in Serena's stance. Quickly he changed targets and pointed the gun at Serena.

"Kelly?" Sarah asked, and Harley pointed the gun at her again. This was what Preston hated. The slightest movement or sound had Harley spooked. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to talk for fear that anything might cause Harley to pull the trigger.

"Hey, Harley, right?" Serena asked him, and Harley pointed the gun at her. His eyes were shifting constantly between all three Rangers, keeping track of their every movement.

"Shut up."

"Harley, I'm the white Ranger," Serena introduced herself. "I'm from the Samurai team in Panorama. We…"

"I said shut up!"

"We stopped Xandred from taking over the planet. He wanted to flood it was Sanzu Water. My team and I kept that from happening."

"Shut up!" Harley shouted again and Preston was sure he would shoot, but he didn't. Despite his growing agitation, Serena continued to speak to him calmly.

"I've seen monsters, Harley," she said to him. "I've fought monsters. That's not you."

"I want to know where Kelly is," Harley growled. "You're going to tell me, or you'll shut up."

"She's not here," Sarah said and Preston winced again. He had to wonder why he had agreed to tag along on this mission. Sarah and Serena were somehow finding the courage to speak to Harley. Preston could barely find the courage to breathe.

Speaking of which, he let out a slow breath. _Breathe, Preston. Breathe._

"She's at home. She's still resting," Sarah explained to Harley. "You beat her up, remember."

"Not enough," Harley said. "Bitch still told lies."

"Her interview?" Sarah asked. "Harley, she just said what…"

"She told lies!" Harley shouted. He pointed the gun at Sarah. Preston wished he wouldn't. He didn't want anyone getting shot, but the Ranger suits were better protection than the vest. He wished Harley would point the gun at Serena again, or even him. "I did the right thing! I called the police! I got you arrested! But your girlfriend decided she would lie, and make me the bad guy!"

"You're not the bad guy," Serena told him, but Harley wouldn't listen. He glared at Sarah, his finger now on the trigger.

"My mom's dead," he said. "Your clones killed her, and instead of paying the price for it, you walked away. You get to live a normal life? My mom's dead, and I'm suspended, and I'm called a liar? I'm called a murderer?"

Preston could understand Harley's frustration. They were faced with the same problem. People who hated the Rangers weren't shy about calling them killers and blaming them for the destruction caused in the city. They were the reason lives were lost, according to the haters.

Fans of the Rangers, or anyone convinced by Kelly's story, liked to put the blame of what happened to students and teachers of Summer Cove High, as well as the police officers, on Harley. Preston had seen a few people call him the killer and demand he take responsibility for his action.

It couldn't seem fair, especially when Harley wasn't thinking straight already. A feeling began to grow in Preston's gut. He knew someone would be shot. He knew a bullet would leave the gun. He just wasn't sure who it would hit. Would Harley keep control long enough to hit his target, or would he take out someone else?

"My life isn't normal," Sarah promised Harley. "I know it doesn't seem like I faced any consequences…"

"You didn't!"

"But my life wasn't easy," Sarah insisted. Harley didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to be reasoned with, he wanted justice. Preston could see that, but he was too scared to move, too scared that if he said something, Harley might shoot.

"My mom is dead!"

"Harley, this isn't you," Serena said to him. "Let's just put the gun on the floor and…"

"Shut up!" Harley shouted, louder this time, less in control. Preston could see that Sarah was noticing that he couldn't be reasoned with either.

Suddenly, it occurred to him. Harley was out of control. He was going to shoot, but Sarah and Serena weren't backing down. They had his attention, and since he saw them, he had left the rest of the school alone. If Preston could get the right footage and get it to Tommy, maybe it could serve as more evidence of the Rangers helping, rather than simply causing destruction.

Very slowly, Preston reached for his phone. His suit, sensing he needed it, let him take it through the spandex. Sarah and Serena had done a good job of holding Harley's attention. The football player didn't even notice Preston move. In fact, Preston was sure he had been so still and so quiet for so long, even Serena and Sarah forgot he was there.

Or maybe they did. Either way, it was good Preston took out his phone. Serena drew her sword and while Harley's hand shook, his finger still on the trigger, and the gun still pointed at Sarah, Serena set her sword on the floor, then kicked it out of reach.

"I'd power down too," Serena said. "But I'm determined on keeping this secret identity thing."

"That's all you do," Harley growled. "All you Rangers, you hide behind those helmets, so you don't have to face what you've done. You get all the power…"

"I have no power right now," Serena told him. She didn't want to tell him about her Samuraizer, but she had no intention of using it except to help. She didn't want to hurt Harley unless it was absolutely necessary. Even then, she knew causing him any amount of pain would only fuel his hatred, and if he made it out of the school, he might try something like this, or worse, again. "Harley, I don't have a weapon and Sarah's unarmed. Can you show us you're willing to talk by lowering the gun?"

"I'm sorry," Sarah told him. Harley looked to her and Sarah wasn't sure if he apology was a mistake, or it if was what he needed to hear. Harley didn't seem sure either. His hands were still shaky, his finger was still on the trigger and his gun was still pointed at the pink Ranger.

"You need to pay for what you did," he said. "If I'm going down, you're going down with me."

"No one's going down," Serena said. "Harley, we'll vouch for you. You know we have friends in law enforcement…"

"That's how she got out," Harley growled. He looked at Sarah. "We had you! You were supposed to rot in jail for the rest of your life! You don't care about paying the price. You just want to keep your powers."

"Harley, I swear, if I could do anything over again, I…" Sarah trailed off. Preston saw why. Right behind Harley, Venoma had decided to show up. She had her arrow pointed at him, and Preston recognized it as yellow. If she shot him, the arrow would blow up.

Preston watched it all happen in slow motion. Serena caught sight of the monster and dove for her sword, knowing she would need her weapon back to defend herself and the others. Sarah ran for Harley. She had to cover him, or at least get him out of Venoma's aim. Harley, unable to see Venoma, but able to see the Rangers before him suddenly coming towards him, or diving for the weapon they swore they wouldn't use, panicked.

There were three gunshots, several cries, and one explosion from the arrow. Preston's phone caught it all on camera.

Preston wished he hadn't stayed frozen.


	25. A Change of Opinion

" _Well, after a lot of drama concerning the Power Rangers, we have a group who can finally claim they knew it all along,"_ a reporter announced on the TV in Ninja Ops. _"New footage from two separate attacks has come to light, showing the Rangers in action and it's glaringly obvious what the Rangers are here for."_

" _Just a few weeks ago,"_ the reporter continued, _"High School student, Sarah Thompson was outed by media outlets across the world, as being the Pink Ranger in the latest team of rainbow coloured super heroes. The reveal of the pink Ranger's identity sparked outrage, especially in her home town, with many concerned that Ranger powers were too much to leave in the hands of a few, unaccountable individuals. However, Thompson, and her team of Rangers, didn't let that stop them from doing what they believed was the right thing. Despite losing her powers publicly, and being left as defenseless to the monsters as everyone else in the city, new footage shows Thompson arriving to the scene of a monster attack and distracting the monster long enough for a crowd of people to flee. Once the rest of the Rangers show up, footage reveals Thompson didn't leave, but instead worked on trying to convince onlookers to get to safety. Suddenly, the Rangers lose control in their fight against the monster, and for one little boy, all seems lost. However, Thompson, seeing the danger, jumps to save the boy, taking a blast meant for him."_

As the reporter spoke, Tommy's footage played on screen. Here, the video paused, showing the still of the burn on Sarah's back as she shielded the boy from danger. When the video played again, it was obvious Sarah's concern wasn't with herself, but on the boy's wellbeing.

" _Despite what appears to be serious injuries, Thompson ensures the boys safety, even after he is returned to his father, who lashes out at the pink Ranger. Then, only a few hours later, another recording of Thompson, and this time the white Ranger from Panorama is released. Summer Cove High, the site of a recent and deadly monster attack, finds itself in trouble again when another High School senior, Harley Cook, shoots the school. Though no one is killed in the horrific incident, Thompson and the white Ranger make an appearance. Their run in with Cook is one no one would expect as Thompson, armed with only a vest, tries to talk Cook out of shooting his gun while her teammate, the white Ranger, sets down what she claims in her only weapon. Thompson and the white Ranger make no attempt to escalate the matter with Cook and instead, appear to be trying to solve things peacefully."_

An obvious effort is made to show Harley with his gun, pointed at Sarah whose hands could been seen throughout the video – showing she has no gun or weapon of any kind on her. There's just a brief glance at Serena and her sword on the ground, just out of reach.

" _Despite having a gun pointed at her, and no Ranger powers to speak of to protect her, Thompson springs into action again when the city's latest monster problem, a bee with what sounds like a French accent, shoots at Cook. The white Ranger rushes to collect her sword while Thompson, still without powers, risks her own life to save Cook. While the bee's attack caused some severe damage to the school, and left many students who were still hiding, wondering whether this was the end or not, no one was severely harmed in the attack. Thompson managed to push Cook out of the way in time to avoid the shot, and the white Ranger swiftly took care of the bee."_

"I hate bees," Kelly muttered.

" _It seems, powers or not, Sarah Thompson's intentions are clear. She's here to protect this city. The identities of her teammates are still a mystery, but as long as these Rangers continue to protect us, the least we can do is afford them a little privacy."_

"I can't believe you filmed that," Hayley said to Preston. She turned off the TV and looked to the blue Ranger. "I mean, I'm happy you did but… what part of school shooting made you want to take out your camera?"

"I just… I had a feeling I should," Preston said. "And you saw the video, it's not like I did much anyway. I saw that gun and I froze."

"I probably would have done the same thing," Kelly assured him, and Preston felt a little better hearing this. He would always wish he had been able to do something to help Sarah and Serena, even though it seemed freezing up had been exactly what was needed. Serena and Sarah were able to keep Harley distracted long enough for Venoma to show up, and as Venoma was being taken down, Rebecca and the Silver Guardians arrived. They took Harley, helped to evacuate the rest of the school, and helped the students who had been shot by Harley.

"It's something about the gun."

"Something about a nut and a gun," Kelly nodded her head. "Does anyone know where he got it from?"

The Rangers all shrugged. Until Rebecca and the Silver Guardians completed their report, there was no telling where Harley could have obtained the gun, and if the process was legal or not.

"I'm a little disappointed they didn't mention Harley shot me three times," Sarah said with a sigh. "I mean, I'm a good guy again and the Rangers are good and everything's right with the world now… mostly. But… I mean, would it be really that hard to just mention that while I was saving his ass, Harley shot me three times?"

"It was a sweet shot of your burn," Calvin stated. He, Brody and Levi were finally back to normal from Venoma's spell. When Serena destroyed her, the spell had worn off. The boys were confused, and Hayley and Kelly promised to fill them in on what happened once things calmed down a little bit.

"Yeah, but…" Sarah rubbed her chest, where she had been shot. Gia's vest had done what it needed to do to protect her, but the former yellow Ranger hadn't lied at all when she said getting shot would still hurt. Sarah would have three dark, heavy bruises as proof for a long time. "I guess it's for the best."

As the others continued to discuss what might happen now that the media, at least, wasn't painting Sarah as the villain, Preston stepped away. He knew everything had worked out well, and that the video had been probably the best thing he could have done in hindsight, but he still wasn't feeling right.

Seeing Preston stepping out of the base, Kelly followed him. She rolled outside the Ribbon Tree and found Preston sitting on the grass. She made her way over to him and then asked him to help her sit. While she already had a seat in the chair, she didn't like being much higher or lower than anyone else when it could be prevented. Preston carefully helped her out of the chair and helped her to sit up on the grass. Kelly leaned against the Ribbon Tree and turned to her friend.

"You okay, Presto?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm just… thinking, I guess."

"Thinking about?"

"What happened."

"Getting that footage was a good idea," Kelly told him. "I mean, we know Sarah enough to trust that she would do something good, maybe even heroic, but now everyone else kind of knows it too."

"We trust Sarah will do the right thing," Preston nodded again. "But we couldn't trust that it would all work out."

"What do you mean?"

"What if Serena hadn't been able to reach her sword fast enough?" Preston asked. "Or what if Harley's aim wasn't just right and he shot Sarah in the arm, or the leg, or the head? What if Venoma anticipated Serena's strength and kicked our asses? Or what if Rebecca didn't show up when she did? Harley was pretty stunned by it all but he still had the gun. He could have shot Sarah a fourth time. Somewhere a little more lethal."

"It could have ended poorly," Kelly admitted. "That's why I have no fingernails right now. We were worried. We all were."

"And I did nothing to help. I froze up, Kel. Sarah didn't even have her Ranger powers and she stood facing down the barrel of a gun without showing a trace of fear."

"Yeah…" Kelly said with a heavy sigh. "She tends to do that. It's like the part of her brain that says ' _be scared'_ doesn't work."

"I feel like the same can be said for all of you," Preston said. He looked to the Ribbon Tree, where his friends were inside Ninja Ops, then back to Kelly. The green Ranger gave him a baffled look.

"You think my fear center is broken?"

Preston pointed to her chair, "Normal people don't just hop right into a wheelchair and join a fight."

"Okay, I didn't hop, that why I have the chair," Kelly chuckled. "And Preston, if you think I wasn't scared… you're a seriously bad judge of character. I mean, maybe I was okay with needing the wheelchair but… things could have been much worse for me. If my injury had been even just a little bit higher, I'd be quadriplegic."

"That sucks."

"I could even be dead," Kelly said. "So, the wheelchair isn't as scary as that but… Harley's a pretty scary guy."

"Sarah and Serena didn't seem to think so."

"Okay, we've talked about Sarah's fear center and I really think Serena's doesn't look much different," Kelly said. "And that's not normal."

"Neither is being a Ranger. And you and Hayley were ready to face Harley…"

"Yeah, because I was scared," Kelly said. "Sarah was going to do it and I couldn't stop her. I was scared Harley would get one look at her, shoot her between the eyes and I'd be attending _yet another_ funeral."

"I'm just… sometimes, I really question if I'm cut out for this Ranger business," Preston said. "I'm not the strongest fighter, I'm not the bravest or the strongest."

"No, you're not," Kelly agreed. Preston looked hurt. She shrugged. "Well, it's true. Everyone inside can beat you up. Hell, I beat you up the other day in training and I can't even use my legs. You aren't exactly the toughest guy around."

"You're really hurting my feelings."

"Oh, did me telling the sweater vest wearing magician he isn't tough hurt his feelings?"

"I don't wear sweater vests."

"You dress pretty nice," Kelly shrugged. "Look, Presto, I'm not actually trying to make fun of you."

"Then your sense of humour center is broken."

"You're not any of those things because… the team doesn't really need them. I had the same doubts as you, once. Remember when Sarah's brother kidnapped her."

"You kept your cool."

"I threw up. A lot. Serena set me straight. I wasn't strong like Sarah and I never will be. Sarah is… well, she's pretty damn fit."

"So."

"I thought I needed to be like Sarah in order to help her. Serena told me that wasn't the case. Sarah's already like Sarah and that wasn't helping her get out of trouble. Clearly, being tough, strong, fit… hot.."

"Kel?"

"Sorry. Clearly, that wasn't helping," Kelly told Preston. "Who I am, and my strengths, was what Sarah needed. And ever since I learned that, Sarah and I have been… like… a perfect duo."

"You're a couple."

"Sarah's strong, brave, tough," Kelly acknowledged. "So are most of the guys in there. But Sarah… she can also be a bit impulsive. Sometimes, it helps that she has me, someone who hesitates, who stops to think more than acts, to help remind her to slow down a little. Just like how sometimes, she pushes me to stop overthinking and act."

"But she did stop. She did slow down, she thought about what to say to Harley and…"

"Okay, comparing ourselves to Sarah isn't fair," Kelly shook her head. "And you know what, beating around the bush isn't helping. Preston, you're not tough, strong, brave… when I describe the Rangers, that's not how I describe you."

"So how do you describe me, then?"

"You're the opposite of Sarah. You're calm, you're careful, you like thinking through a plan before you execute it. You like to sit back and watch before diving into a situation. You take your time with things."

"How does that help as a Ranger? Madam Oedius isn't going to give us time to…"

"You make time. You second guess things when you think our first idea isn't going to work. You make those jocks in there think twice about life-threatening situations. You almost force us to come up with a safer, more effective plan."

"Because I'm scared."

"No one said scared was bad," Kelly shook her head.

"I did."

"You're wrong," she told him. "Presto, maybe you didn't stop Harley. Maybe you didn't stop Venoma either. But when you hesitated, you got the idea to record the drama and… you stopped the news turning Sarah into a villain."

"I think Dr. Oliver…"

"Maybe his video would have worked, but yours? Yours showed that Sarah helping people isn't a one-time thing. I don't know if it's going to make a difference for Sarah appearing in public again but… if it does, that'll be thanks to you. Maybe the Prism picked you because it knew the team would need someone to help balance out the strong and the brave."

"I wish I could have done more," Preston sighed. "Regardless of how I helped, I wish I could have done something more than hold up a camera."

"I know how you feel," Kelly nodded her head. "But you did exactly what needed to be done. No one else would have thought to take out their camera."

"Perfect, just who I wanted to see," Tommy announced as he made his way up the hill. "Are the others inside?"

"You released the video?" Kelly asked.

"Figured in the midst of all the panic, the city needed a hero," Tommy nodded his head. "How is everyone doing?"

"Well, everyone's in love with the right person," Preston answered. "Sarah's got bullet bruises, instead of bullet holes."

"Gia's leg is still broken," Kelly added. "But it's not worse."

"I'll say we're doing good, then," Tommy nodded. "Can I come in?"

Kelly and Preston nodded their heads and after Kelly got back in her chair, they brought Tommy inside Ninja Ops. His arrival made everyone stop what they were doing and they took a seat on the couch and chairs around Ninja Ops.

"The video release seems to have gone well," Tommy announced to the Rangers, then he looked to Preston, "Having your video helped a lot, too. We could see that Sarah, and all the Rangers, do exactly what we say we want to do."

"See," Kelly whispered to Preston and gave him a slight nudge.

"Any idea what public opinion is like?" Sarah asked. "I'd really like to go to school, or see the new house Shane bought... or… leave this place in general."

"Well, I can't promise one way or the other," Tommy said. "But from what I could tell it looks like people who were angry with you because of what the news reports were saying have changed their minds."

"So, they aren't mad because people told them not to be mad anymore?"

"Journalists have a lot more power than people realize," Kelly told Brody. "I mean, you remember what happened when my dad posted one article, right? And it's not even like too many people agreed with him."

"Back to why I'm here," Tommy said. "While the media changing its mind helped to change the minds of most people, some people who were already harbouring tough feelings towards the Rangers are still… well, upset."

"Is it safe to leave?" Sarah asked. She wanted a straight answer. "Can I go out in public? Can I go to school?"

"No to the school thing," Tommy said. "But only because school's cancelled until the investigation is complete. Heading out into public… I think is pretty safe."

"Yes!" Sarah cheered and threw her hands up in the air and the other Rangers celebrated with her. While their identities hadn't been revealed, simply being known for being friends with Sarah had caused them quite a bit of grief. They had to assume that if it was safe for Sarah to leave Ninja Ops without causing a riot or risking personal harm, it would be safe for them to be with their friend without people questioning or condemning them.

As they celebrated and planned what they were going to do with their freedom, Serena, Gia, Mick and RedBot made their way to Tommy.

"You know, we would have figured this out," Gia said. "We didn't need an eleventh hour save from Tommy Oliver."

"I help where I can," Tommy assured them. "It's what Rangers do."

"Thank you," Serena smiled.

"You're doing a good job with them," Tommy said as he looked to the newest team. "They're all great Rangers. Word on the Ranger street is that these guys have what it takes to save the world."

"Don't we always?" Gia asked. Tommy looked to her.

"How many Rangers did it take to stop the Armada again?"

Gia frowned and pretended to look insulted. She knew Tommy was only teasing, but if that was the game he wanted to play, she was more than happy to join in.

"Uh, how many freaking Armada invasions did your teams have to handle?"

"My team never let it get to the point of invasion," Tommy smirked.

"Yeah? Who got himself stuck in his own Ranger suit?" Gia smirked. "Or, is someone forgetting I'm good friends with his red Ranger?"

"Which red?" Serena asked.

"Conner."

Tommy frowned, "At least I didn't allow a full-scale invasion."

"I mean, you were around at the time it happened so… technically, you did," Gia smirked.

"I lead the team that helped you stop it."

"But my team actually did stop it," Gia smirked.

"Okay, the egos aren't fitting in the room anymore," Serena said as she put herself between Gia and Tommy to stop their playful banter, as she looked to the Rangers. "What if we head out for ice-cream?"


End file.
